


A Star Wars Family Christmas

by BaronVonChop



Series: A Star Wars Family [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But there are definitely some young crushes, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Not too shippy, Spoilers, Star Wars: The Force Awakens Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5555630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronVonChop/pseuds/BaronVonChop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twelve-year-old Rey and her father Luke visit her Aunt Leia and Uncle Han's place for Christmas. Rey has invited her friend Finn to spend the holidays with her family. The town is snowed in, so her aunt has also invited Poe, a teenager who works at Leia's store, to join them for Christmas. Rey isn't sure how to feel about that, and she isn't looking forward to seeing her obnoxious cousin Ben (who insists on being called 'Kylo Ren'). But at least she will get to spend time with Leia and Han, and of course their lovable old dog Chewbacca!</p><p>The whole story is holiday fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [Christmas Cheer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5505650/chapters/12716387).

Fat snowflakes fall all around, piling silently on the Ford Mustang’s windshield until the wipers slide them off. In the passenger seat, twelve-year-old Rey kicks her feet against her chair. “Dad, we’re going to be late! They’re not going to be at the store any more.”

Luke bends down in the driver’s seat to peer through the semicircular area the wipers cleared. “We’re almost there, sweetie.” He glances at her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the road. “The roads are very slippery. Safety first.”

“I’ll bet if Uncle Han were driving, we’d be there already!”

Luke chuckles. “If Uncle Han were driving, odds are we’d be in a ditch. So, are you excited to see everyone again?”

“Yeah. Especially Chewie!” Rey has known the big mutt all her life.

“Oh, I’m sure your aunt and uncle will be glad to hear that the dog is the only reason you’re visiting,” Luke teases.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them too!” Rey replies indignantly. Her voice gets quieter as she turns her eyes down. “I hope they don’t mind us coming over. I don’t want to be in the way.”

“They love having you over! Besides, their place is huge.”

“Do you really think they’ll have room for Finn? They’ve never even met him.”

“You remember what Leia said: any friend of yours is welcome. Knowing them, they’ve probably already invited some others over, too.”

“People I don’t know?”

Luke’s voice is reassuring. “You know how your aunt is. She’s probably found some poor lost soul with nobody to spend Christmas with and recruited them to join our family for the holiday.” Rey is silent, staring out into the snow. Luke adds, “Don’t worry. Have you ever known Leia to invite over anyone who wasn’t nice?”

Rey’s face suddenly brightens into an impish grin. “Does that rule apply to Ben?”

Luke laughs before he can stop himself. “I don’t think it counts for her son, no.” He makes himself look serious. “Rey, remember that your cousin is officially a teenager this year. If he seems a little weird, just wait, you’ll be a teenager yourself in a few years.”

“He’s always been a _little_ weird, but lately he’s gotten _weirder_.” Rey makes a face.

Luke is saved from having to respond to that comment because he has just spotted Leia’s store through the blowing snow. “Ah, here we are.” Luke turns into the parking lot and slides the car into the spot next to Leia’s Camaro. As Luke turns off the engine, Rey is already unbuckling herself and opening the door.

Rey crunches through the snow as quickly as she can, as the snowflakes gather in her hair and the cold air leeches her heat. She yanks open the store’s front door, jingling the bell hanging from its inside handle. The rows of shelves are decked with wreaths, garlands, and Christmas lights.

A familiar voice calls from the back of the store. “Who could that be?”

“Aunt Leia, it’s me!” Rey shouts, rushing forward. Leia appears at the end of the aisle, her face beaming.

As Rey approaches, Leia holds out her hands for a hug. “Oh my goodness, look how big you--oof!” Rey hits her aunt a little harder than she intended when her damp shoes skid with a squeak. “Easy there,” Leia laughs, “you’ll knock me over!”

Rey laughs too. “I’m almost as big as you now!”

The bell jingles again as Luke entered the store. Leia plants a big kiss on Rey’s forehead and looks up at Luke. “What have you been feeding this one? She’s growing like a weed!” Leia pinches Rey’s upper arm and gives a mock frown. “A bit skinny, though.”

Luke gives his sister a hug. “Well, this is your chance to do something about that.” He looks down at the floor. “Rey, you just tracked snow into the store.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Leia says, waving aside any concerns. “Poe will take care of it.” She half-turns and calls back into the store. “Poe, bring the mop and bucket.”

A teenage boy sticks his head around the corner from the other side of the store. “I’ve already mopped the front of the store.”

Rey tries to hide behind Leia. Leia puts her arm around Rey and maneuveres her so that she is back in view. “Well, now you can mop it again. Poe, this is my brother Luke and my niece Rey. Poe’s been helping out around the store to make some extra money for the holidays. He was going to rejoin his family for Christmas, but, thanks to this blizzard, he’ll be joining us instead.”

Poe comes over and Luke shakes his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Poe.”

“Likewise, sir,” Poe returns, and he starts mopping up Rey’s damp footprints.

Rey feels her face flush. “I’m sorry about the--”

“Pfff, not another word,” says Poe, not even letting her finish. “You were excited to see your aunt again. I was just as excitable when I was your age.”

Rey suddenly feels like a child, and she wants to do something to prove how grown-up she is. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Well,” says Leia, who was waiting for that exact question, “We’re almost done closing up, but someone needs to unplug all these Christmas lights so that we can lock up the store.”

“I can do that!” says Rey, and she gets several steps before her dad calls after her.

“Perhaps you should wipe your feet first!”

Poe grins good-naturedly as Rey shuffles past him, back toward the mat by the entrance. Once she has thoroughly wiped her feet, she begins scurrying around the store, unplugging the various strands of lights.

Leia leans her back against a shelf. “I’m glad you got into town before they closed the roads. I was worried when I heard you’d be driving in this snow.”

“Thank goodness we were already in town when the storm really hit.” Luke looks around the store. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I think we can let the kids take it from here,” says Leia.

“Are you sure?”

Leia gives her brother a look. “Just sit back and enjoy being around young people who are eager to help. You’ll be treated to a different sort when we get back to our place.”

“Ben’s that bad?”

“I love him, and he’s not a bad kid, but he's definitely a moody teenager now. I’m glad Poe’s around to remind us that they’re not all like that.”

Luke glances at Poe for a moment. “It must be tough for him to be away from his family for the holidays.”

Leia nods. “I’ve known his folks for years. They’re good people. We’ve had them over for dinner a few times, so I’m hoping it won’t be too strange for Poe.”

Luke catches Leia’s eye. “And you’re okay with Rey’s friend Finn coming over?”

“Sure! I said it was fine, didn’t I?” She looks thoughtful. “So his family doesn’t celebrate Christmas? Is it a religious thing?”

“They belong to the First Order. They’re not big on holidays.”

“And they’re okay with Finn celebrating with us?”

Luke pauses. “Rey says so.”

Leia raises an eyebrow, but she doesn’t have time for questions because Poe and Rey have finished.

Rey is a little out of breath from dashing around the store. “Anything else?”

“Just locking up. Could you do the back of the store?” Leia takes out a ring of keys and holds it out by one key to show Rey which key to use.

They meet up by the cars and Rey returns the keys to Leia. Once Leia has locked the front door, she tousles Rey’s hair. “Thanks for the help.” Leia pauses by her car. “So now you’re both following us back to the house?”

“If you’ll have us,” Luke says, grinning.

Leia grunts. “Hm, I’ll consider it. Well, come on, before we all freeze.”

Luke and Rey get into the Mustang while Leia and Poe climb into the Camaro. Luke follows Leia, glad that all he has to do is follow the glow of their rear lights in the blowing snow. Leia and Han’s house isn’t far from the store, but at the rate they are going, it will take a few minutes to get there.

They drive in silence for a while. Luke glances at his daughter and decides to break the silence. “Poe seems nice.”

Rey turns her head to look at the snow out the window. She can barely make out the lights of houses through the snow.

Luke tries again. “I’m sure there will be more to do with another person your age in the house.”

Rey’s reply is so quiet that Luke bends his head toward her to hear it. “He’s not my age.” She thinks about saying more, and Luke waits for her, but she decides to leave it at that.

“Well, you can still ask him if there’s anything he’d like to do. Your aunt and uncle have a great collection of board games, and maybe Ben will let you play his video games.” He smiles. “And if he doesn’t, just let Leia or Han know, and they’ll overrule him.” He laughs at his joke, but Rey remains silent, trying to organize her thoughts. Her dad frowns. “What’s bothering you, honey?”

Rey gives a long sigh. “I just… I don’t know why we have to share our Christmas… with people who aren’t even a part of our family.” Luke waits, knowing this time there will be more. “I know it’s not up to me, and I know that we’re hoping to add Finn too, and I _know_ it’s not fair to Poe, but… they’re _my_ family. Aunt Leia, Uncle Han, even dumb Ben. I don’t know why we have to add a stranger to _our_ Christmas. I mean… I’m not explaining...” She falls silent, frustrated with herself for feeling this way.

Luke’s voice is gentle as he replies, “It may be a little uncomfortable, but try to keep an open mind. You and Poe may end up being good friends.” Rey does not reply. Outside, the Camaro’s lights turn as Leia pulls into her driveway. Luke prepares to follow them, but before he does, he turns to Rey and waits for her to make eye contact. “Just promise me you’ll give him a chance, okay?”

Rey considers her options, and finally replies, “Okay.”

Luke is about to turn back to the task of parking when Rey adds, “He probably thinks I’m a dumb kid.”

Luke’s smile is warm. “I’m sure he doesn’t think you’re dumb.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” Luke squints out through the windshield. “Looks like Leia’s having trouble with the garage door. Do you think you could hop out and knock on the front door, in case there’s someone around who can help her from the inside?”

Rey unbuckles herself and hops out, closing the car door behind her. She can see her aunt struggling to lift the garage door manually. After a few moments, Poe gets out the passenger door of the Camaro and tries to help, but it does not look like he has much luck either.

Rey hurries over to the front door. She knocks on the door and pushes the doorbell with fingers that are already getting cold. She waits for a few moments, ramming her hands into her jacket pockets and stamping her feet. She can see through the large bay window at the front of the house that the lights are on in the living room. There is a gap in the curtains at the center of the window, and so she tromps over to the window and peers in.

Inside, she can see a glimpse into the warm living room, where Christmas decorations are in abundance. Her cousin Ben sprawls on the couch, not quite looking in her direction as he watches TV. It looks like he has dyed his hair black, which has only made him look more pale.

Rey tries waving to him, but he either doesn’t see her or he’s ignoring her. It has been a while since she has seen her cousin, but the old familiar frustration with him comes back to her immediately.

She makes her way back to the door and presses the doorbell a few more times and knocks extra hard. She steps back to look through the gap in the curtains again, but Ben is still sprawled in the exact same position, lounging on the couch and eating chocolate-covered biscuit sticks from a small red box.

Then Han appears, walking quickly toward the garage. He says something to Ben as he passes, causing Ben to roll his eyes dramatically. After Han disappears in the direction of the garage door, a few moments pass, and the door jerks up with a bang before rolling up smoothly.

Leia gets back into the car, and first she and then Luke pull into the roomy garage, somehow managing to fit both cars alongside Han’s beat-up van. Rey follows, shaking snow out of her hair and off of her jacket. It is not much warmer in the garage, but she is glad to be out of the snow.

Her uncle Han pulls the garage door back down and gives her his lopsided smile. “Hey kiddo. Good to see you!” He stoops a bit to put an arm around her, then helps brush snow from her hair.

“Hi Uncle Han!” Rey enthuses. Her teeth chatter a little.

Luke and Leia both emerge from their vehicles. “Hey, dear,” says Han, giving Leia a kiss on the cheek. He turns to his brother-in-law. “How you doing, kid?”

“A little cold,” says Luke. He puts an arm around his shivering daughter.

Leia starts to usher them inside. “Yes, let’s get you in where it’s warm!”

As they enter, Han shakes Poe’s hand. “Welcome! Sorry about the garage door. It likes to freeze when it’s cold.”

“Thanks for having me over, sir,” Poe says. Han cringes a bit at the ‘sir,’ but he does not say anything.

“Don’t forget to take your shoes off, everyone,” Han says, closing the door when they’re all inside. “Make yourselves at home.”

They all make their way into the living room, shedding coats as they go. Rey had a glimpse of the living room from outside, but the effect is much grander when she’s in the room. A tall tree dominates one corner of the room, hung with ornaments and tinsel. The decorations are a chronicle of the childhoods of Ben and Rey, since they include hand-made ornaments from every year of their early lives, along with photographs stuck in tiny frames. Beneath the tree, colorfully wrapped presents lie stacked and waiting for Christmas morning.

Everywhere in the room there is some reminder that it’s Christmas. Green garlands with red bows decorate the handrails of the staircases leading up to the second floor and down to the basement. More garlands and bunches of fake holly hang from the walls. A row of ornamental nutcrackers stand on a shelf of one of the room’s large bookcases. Even some of the pillows on the couches and sofas are Christmas-themed, red and green and decorated with pictures of trees and reindeer.

Leia tells them, “If you’re hungry, there’s snacks in the kitchen. If you’re thirsty, there’s drinks in the fridge. Sit wherever there’s room for your butt. If you grab a book off a shelf, it’s yours until you put it back. Han, am I forgetting anything?”

“You all know where the bathrooms are,” Han says. “If you’re gonna stink one up, use the one downstairs.”

“Gross, Dad,” groans Ben from the couch.

“Hi, Ben,” says Rey. She tries not to laugh at his unnaturally black hair.

“Hey.” Ben doesn’t even look up from the television.

Leia bops her son on the head lightly as she walks past him. “Thanks for your help with the garage door, Ben.”

Ben sighs. “I told you, I don’t answer to that name any more. It’s Kylo Ren now.”

Leia crosses her arms. “Well, ‘Kylo Ren’ wasn’t much help with the garage door, either.”

“Looks like you got it open anyway, so you didn’t need me.”

Luke steps up behind the couch and grabs one of Ben’s shoulders from behind in mock congratulations. “While you bravely weighed down the couch, lest it should float off into space without you.”

“Whatever.”

Han smiles at Rey. “Well, I know someone who’s going to be happy to see you guys.” He calls out, “Hey, Chewie! Look who’s here!”

Immediately they hear a joyous bark and the sound of approaching feet, and Chewbacca comes barreling around the corner from where he’d been napping in the kitchen. The big mutt nearly bowls Rey over as he jumps up and starts trying to lick her face. Luke gives the top of Chewbacca’s head a playful rub, causing the dog’s ears to flop around.

When the old dog thinks he’s given Rey enough kisses, he flops onto his side, and she starts rubbing his chest. “Who’s a good boy?” she asks, and the dog barks as though in response. Everyone smiles at that, even Ben, though he quickly replaces it with a scowl before anyone notices.

Leia gives the dog a playful nudge with her toe. “It’s like he turns into a puppy again every time you come to visit.”

Rey places a hand on each side of Chewie’s face and squishes his jowls gently. “He _is_ a puppy! Isn’t he? Isn’t he just a big puppy puppy?” Chewbacca’s tail thumps against the carpet as he sneaks his tongue out to try for one more kiss.

Poe sits down on a sofa facing the television and turns to Ben. “How have you been?”

“All right.”

“What are you watching?”

“Whatever’s on.”

“Fascinating.” Poe, despite being faced with Ben’s total disinterest, doesn’t seem to lose an ounce of his good mood.

“Hey, Ben,” says Han. “I just realized that we left the suitcases in the cars. Since you’re not really interested in what’s on TV, why don’t you help me bring them in?”

“I told you, I don’t answer to that--”

“Well, then, if ‘Kylo Ren’ doesn’t help with the suitcases, ‘Kylo Ren’ will be getting coal in his stocking this year. We planned ahead and kept the receipts for your presents. Now hop to it.”

When the suitcases are all inside and everyone is situated around the television, Han and Leia bring in some trays of steaming hot chocolate.

Luke half-stands. “You should have let me help you.”

“Relax, kid, you’re our guest,” says Han.

“Enjoy it,” adds Leia, “by tomorrow the novelty will have worn off and you’ll be expected to make your own hot chocolate.”

They sit and drink their hot chocolates while the television plays a documentary about whales. Chewbacca lies down on the floor near Rey, and she perches her cold feet on him to warm them up.

After a few minutes, Rey asks, “When can we go get Finn?”

“I don’t think that’s going to be happening tonight,” Luke says. “The snow’s pretty thick, and it’s still coming down pretty hard out there.”

Han nods. “Our best bet will be early in the morning, after the snowplows have cleared the roads.”

“Hang on a second,” says Leia. “We’re all going to be making breakfast tomorrow morning. Remember, Luke was going to help us make pancakes from scratch?”

“Oh, that’s right,” says Han. “Well, I guess pancakes can wait for another morning…”

Everyone’s face falls at that. It is something of a tradition for them to have pancakes together on their first morning when visiting, and they were all looking forward to it.

“I could take Rey,” Poe offers.

Rey is so surprised that she blurts out, “Wait, seriously?” before she can stop herself.

Poe smiles like it’s no big deal. “Sure. I’ll have you and Finn back before the pancakes have a chance to cool.”

Han points a finger at Poe. “You’d better drive safe.”

“I’m a great driver, sir,” Poe assures him. “I was the best in my Driver’s Ed class.”

“Just take your time on those roads,” Leia says. “Don’t go showing off for Rey.”

Rey looks aghast at her aunt, who is smiling at her with her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Han studies Poe, but finally waves his hand. “Well, all right.”

“I’m going to call Finn to let him know.” Rey stands and goes halfway down the stairs, sitting on the staircase as she takes out her cell phone. She selects Finn’s number and waits.

It only rings once before Finn’s voice, sounding slightly out of breath, comes over the line. “Hello?”

“Hi Finn! It’s me.”

Finn lets out a relieved sigh. He lowers his voice to a whisper. “Oh, hi. It’s a good thing I’m the one who answered the phone.”

Rey thinks about that for a moment. “You don’t have your own phone?”

“No, we’re not allowed to. Is something wrong?” he asks, a note of concern entering his voice.

“Everything’s fine. We’re at my aunt and uncle’s place. They say we shouldn’t try to come get you tonight because of all the snow, so we’re coming over early tomorrow.”

“You’re not going to be able to come over tonight?” Finn’s voice is low with disappointment.

“No, but tomorrow morning, I promise.”

“Well, okay.” A pause. “Hey, Rey?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for doing this.”

“Sure, no problem. It’ll be fun.”

“Well, just… thanks. Okay, I gotta go. See you tomorrow!” She can hear the hope in the way he says it.

“See you tomorrow!”

She ends the call and goes back up the stairs to rejoin her family, where they watch television until the show ends.

The soup they will have for dinner is already simmering on the stove. Han gets up, saying, “Okay, now that the TV’s hold on us is broken, let’s take advantage of our newfound freedom and get ourselves some dinner.”

They line up in the kitchen and Han spoons soup into their bowls. A savory smell fills the kitchen. When Rey’s turn comes, Leia advises Han, “Give her a little extra. Apparently it’s up to us to put some meat on this girl’s bones.”

“You got it,” says Han, filling Rey’s bowl so full that she has to be careful not to spill it. “And feel free to come back for seconds if you like. I made lots.”

Chewbacca weaves between their legs, bumping into people and nearly causing Rey to spill her soup.

Leia rolls her eyes and gives the dog a smile. “Will someone get this walking carpet some food?”

“C’mere Chewie,” says Han, walking over to where the dog’s food and water bowls wait in the kitchen. “It’s dinner time for you, too.” He fills Chewie’s bowl with kibble, and the dog begins to eat noisily.

They make their way through the kitchen into the dining room at the back of the house. Rey sits between her dad and her aunt. When Ben sits down, he grimaces at his bowl. “Oh yay, chicken and vegetable soup. How novel.”

“Hey buster,” says Han, pointing his spoon at his son, “if you’d ever like to delight us all with your culinary mastery, you just go right ahead.”

“This is very good, sir,” says Poe.

“And you,” says Han, rounding on him while Poe sits up in surprise. Leia is already failing to hide her laughter as Han says, “If you call me ‘sir’ one more time, I’m gonna make you eat your napkin for dessert, ya hear me?”

Poe looks like he doesn’t know whether to laugh or be worried. “Yes s--” He catches himself just in time as Han widens his eyes and purses his lips. “You got it!” Poe says quickly.

Rey laughs, though she feels a little bad for Poe.

When dinner is over, Rey helps gather the dishes and brings them to the sink. “Can I help do the dishes?” she asks.

“You’re our guest,” says Han as he starts to run hot water into the sink.

Rey grins. “That means I’m doing dishes tomorrow, doesn’t it?”

Han gives her a fond smile and nods. “Now you’re catching on.”

They gather around the television and watch a crime show, but Luke and Rey both keep yawning, tired out from their trip.

“Looks like it’s coming up on bedtime,” says Leia. “C’mon, you’ll both be downstairs. Luke, you’ll be in the guest bedroom. Rey, I’ve made up the pull-out sofa bed for you. Poe and Finn will get bedrolls and sleeping bags.”

“What about Ben?” asks Rey.

Ben speaks up. “I’ll be sleeping upstairs, in my room, in my bed. Have fun sleeping on the floor, Poe.”

Poe shrugs. “It’s cool.”

Rey takes her bag downstairs. The room at the foot of the stairs has a sofa that has been made up into a bed, a computer desk, an exercise bike,and some free weights in a rack. Rey makes her way down a hallway to the bathroom and gets ready for bed. As she leaves the bathroom, her dad emerges from the guest bedroom on his way to take his turn in the bathroom. “Good night,” he says.

“Good night, Dad.”

“If you need anything, just let Han or Leia know. Don’t worry about waking them up.”

“I’ll tell them you said that.”

“You do that. Sleep tight!”

Rey walks back to the sofa bed and climbs into bed. Looking up at the ceiling, feeling the lumps of the old mattress under her back, and listening to the muffled sound of the television upstairs, she thinks about how different it is to sleep in a place that isn’t her own room, in her own home. It helps when, with a heave and a lurch, Chewbacca hauls himself onto the sofa bed and curls up at the foot of the bed. She gives him a fond pat with her foot. Maybe this won’t be so bad, she thinks, and she falls asleep soon after.


	2. The Second Day

Rey awakens gradually to someone touching her shoulder and whispering her name. She is disoriented for a moment before she remembers where she is. The room is bathed in shadow, but a light shines in the hallways leading back to the bathroom and the guest bedroom.

“Rey? It’s time to wake up. The snowplow went past ten minutes ago, and it’s already snowing.”

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” Rey mumbles. She yawns and shakes her head before several things hit her all at once: she’s in her pajamas, her hair is probably a mess, and she almost certainly has morning breath. Without conscious thought, she burrows into her blankets and pivots around so that she’s facing the wall.

Poe is caught by surprise. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine,” she says, her voice a higher pitch than usual. “Go on ahead, I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Okay.” His voice sounds like he’s smiling. “I’ll be upstairs in the living room when you’re ready.”

“‘Kay.” She hears him go up the stairs. When he is at the top and out of sight, she throws back the covers and gets out of bed.

She can see the shape of Poe’s sleeping bag in the dark nearby, with his suitcase nearby. It suddenly occurs to her that Poe was sleeping in the same room as her the whole night. It had not seemed like that big a deal when Leia had told her the plan the night before, but it certainly seems like a big deal now.

She sees the shape of another folded sleeping bag and a rolled-up mat, waiting for Finn. She thinks about that for a moment before putting the thought hastily aside. She needs to hurry, or the roads won’t be safe to drive and they won’t be able to pick Finn up.

Rey goes through her suitcase looking for what to wear. She’s trying to hurry, but suddenly she wishes that she had packed some cooler clothes. She had packed for warmth and comfort, but her clothes suddenly all seem pretty plain. Frowning, she settles on a tan-and-cream long-sleeved shirt and some jeans before hurrying to the bathroom.

When Rey looks at herself in the bathroom mirror, she looks pale and sleepy, and her hair is every bit as disheveled as she’d feared. She gets dressed and washes up quickly, making sure to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth to hopefully dispel her morning breath. She brushes her hair until it looks a little more presentable and rushes out of the bathroom.

Back in the downstairs room, she stashes her pajamas out of sight under the covers.

She climbs the stairs to find Poe reading a Calvin and Hobbes collection on the couch. He looks up when he hears her. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she says, grabbing her coat from its hook and putting it on.

“Do you have Finn’s address?”

She crouches to tie her shoes. “It’s on my phone.”

“All right, let’s do this!”

They enter the garage and get into Leia’s Camaro. This time the automatic garage door opener actually works, and they pull out into the dark morning. The snow looks eerie in the glow of the streetlights. Luckily, the roads remain pretty clear, and Poe keeps his promise to Luke and drives safely.

When they enter Finn’s town, Rey checks her phone occasionally, letting Poe know when to turn. Each time she speaks, it feels strange to break the silence. They have not seen any other cars, and the houses they pass are all dark.

As they are getting close, Rey asks a question that’s been on her mind. “So I’ve been wondering,” she begins, and Poe looks over at her for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. “Why wasn’t your car in front of Leia’s store yesterday?”

Poe turns to her again, long enough to give her a roguish grin. “Want to know a secret?”

Her breath catches. “Sure.”

“I don’t actually have my license yet,” says Poe, with a laugh that is only the tiniest bit nervous. “I take the bus to your aunt’s store.”

“What?” she asks, and immediately wishes that it hadn’t come out quite so loud.

“I do have a learner’s permit!” he says quickly. “And I really was the best student in my Driver’s Ed class! But I’m not sixteen yet, so I can’t get my license.”

For a moment, the thought flashes through her mind that, if Poe is fifteen, he’s closer to her age than she thought at first. Before she can get distracted by that train of thought, she focuses on a more pressing question. “Isn’t this technically illegal? You’re not supposed to drive without a licensed driver in the car with you.”

Poe chuckles, a little self-conscious now. “Well, yeah, that’s true.”

“And does Aunt Leia know that you don’t have a license?”

“She knows. She also knew there wouldn’t be any other cars out this early, and she knows I’m a safe driver. She trusts me. How about you? Do you trust me?” He looks at her, and, wow, his eyes are so brown.

She looks down at her phone. “A right up ahead, and it’ll be the second house on the right.”

Poe settles back in his seat. “You got it, boss!”

Now that Rey knows that Poe shouldn’t be driving, she feels like she’s his accomplice. She feels her pulse speed up at the thought.

They pull over by Finn’s house. Rey doesn’t see any lights on in the house, so she worries for a moment that Finn is not awake yet, but before Poe can even turn off the engine the door opens and Finn emerges with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. He locks the door behind him and runs through the snow toward them. The snow is so deep that he has to lift his feet up high to clear it, and yet he still can’t help but kick up plumes of snow with each step.

Poe presses the button to unlock the doors and Finn gets in, followed by a short gust of cold air. “Hi, Rey,” he says.

“Hi, Finn. This is Poe. He works for my aunt.”

Finn takes a moment to unsling his duffel bag and place it on the back seat behind him before buckling his seatbelt. “Hi, Poe. Good to meet you.”

Poe turns around in his seat and holds out his hand to Finn. They shake. “Good to meet you, too, Finn.”

“Yeah,” says Finn. He looks out the window toward his house. “Thanks for coming to get me. We can go now.”

“What’s the rush?” asks Poe, but he’s already putting the car in gear and pulling away from the curb.

Finn lets out a long breath. “I’ve always wanted to celebrate Christmas, but my folks aren’t into it. They’re not big fans of anything that’s fun, in general. When Rey said I could spend the holidays with her family, I could hardly believe it!” It’s not exactly an answer to Poe’s question.

Poe glances at Finn in the rearview mirror. “Did you get your parents’ permission?”

Finn is silent, and he glances to Rey for support. Rey turns in her seat to face back toward Finn. “Don’t worry, it’s not like Poe is going to take you back.” She gives Poe an earnest look. “Right? I mean, you’re driving illegally, so we’re all in this together.”

Poe chuckles. “So it’s blackmail, is it? Don’t worry, Finn, your secret’s safe with me. Still, your folks are gonna worry.”

“I left a note,” says Finn, his face so earnest that Poe and Rey can’t help but laugh. Finn gives a nervous smile. “What?”

“Well, we’ll just have to see what happens,” says Poe.

At just that moment, a police cruiser emerges from the snow ahead. The three youths each react simultaneously. Rey gives an audible gasp and sits still, her whole body utterly rigid, her head pointed straight ahead in a vain attempt to look like she’s not looking at the police car. Finn shouts in alarm and ducks down, cramming his body into the space in front of the back seat. Poe, attempting to make up for the suspicious behavior of his two passengers, slouches down in the driver’s seat, holding the steering wheel with his right hand while he props his left elbow up on the door next to him. As the police drive past them, Poe actually starts whistling.

Luckily, the police barely glance over at them.

When the police car disappears in the blowing snow behind them, Rey, Poe, and Finn burst into laughter.

Finn lets out a whoop. “I thought they would pull us over for sure!”

“Look at us!” Poe shakes his head and smiles at them. “What a bunch of badasses!”

Rey puts a hand on her chest and feels how her heart is still hammering. “I was so nervous!”

“Me too!” Finn can’t seem to stop grinning. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack!”

Poe feigns surprise. “But you both looked so calm!”

This causes the three of them to break into helpless laughter again.

By the time they arrive at Leia and Han’s place, the streets are already white with snow. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to be doing any more driving today,” Poe says as they get out to struggle with the garage door, which has gotten stuck again. When the door finally starts moving, they discover that Luke was helping from the other side.

“I heard you arrive,” he explains as Poe parks the car. “Hi, Finn! Good morning, Poe.”

Finn sees the Mustang parked next to the Camaro. “Wow, your family has some really nice cars!”

“My granddad rebuilds them as a hobby,” says Rey. “They were gifts to my dad and my aunt from him.”

“He must have serious skills,” says Finn.

Luke nods. “He sure does. Well, the pancakes are ready, so why don’t you three run and grab some breakfast while I stash Finn’s stuff downstairs?” He takes Finn’s duffel bag.

“Are you sure?” Finn asks. “I can take the bag downstairs, it’s no trouble at all.”

“Nah, I got it,” says Luke, huffing a bit as he lifts the bag. “Don’t let my ‘dad bod’ fool ya, I’m not totally useless yet.”

“Dad!” Rey cries, aghast. “Please don’t say that!”

“Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Poe and Finn are both looking at Rey. She can feel her stomach tightening. “Now you’re embarrassing me more!” she groans.

Luke looks genuinely apologetic. “Sorry. Again. I’ll just take this downstairs, where I’ll be out of the way!” He chuckles, waits for a moment as though deciding whether to kiss his daughter or ruffle her hair, decides not to risk it, and heads into the house.

Rey, Poe, and Finn follow, taking off their shoes and coats and making their way into the kitchen where Han and Leia are at the stove making pancakes. A stack of pancakes already waits, steaming, on a table in the kitchen.

“Welcome back! I see your mission was a success.” Leia invites them closer with a wave of her hand. “Come on, I’ll bet you’re hungry. Eat ‘em while they’re hot!”

Nearby, Chewbacca is enjoying his own breakfast, crunching through a bowl of dog food. When Rey enters the kitchen, he stops eating to come over to her. She pats him on the head and he wags his tail at her, panting happily. A thin strip of spit falls from his mouth onto her sock. His job accomplished, Chewie returns to his food.

Rey and Poe help themselves to some pancakes and Rey pours herself a cup of juice. They sit at the table and start to eat. Rey looks up and sees that Finn is still hovering by the table. Leia and Han have returned to the stove and are working on the next batch of pancakes.

“Come on, Finn,” says Rey. “Dig in.”

Finn shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s very kind of you to invite me to share your food.”

Han and Leia turn around to find out why Finn is hesitating. Leia gives Finn a quizzical look. “Have you already eaten breakfast?”

“No, not yet.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t like pancakes,” says Han.

“I like pancakes, and I’m sure these are delicious!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Um, well…” Finn looks to Rey for help, but she looks just as puzzled as her aunt and uncle.

Leia understands. Her voice is soft. “It’s okay. You’re welcome to have as much as you like. Please. We want you to.”

Finn nods. He picks up a plate and a fork, but he pauses one more time. “Are you sure?”

Han sighs. “Kid, if you don’t eat some pancakes right now, I’m gonna hold you down while Leia force-feeds them to ya.”

“Thank you!” Finn piles pancakes onto his plate and drowns them in syrup.

Leia gives Han a sharp look, so he bends down and gives her a peck on the cheek. “Just helping out,” he says. “C’mon, let’s be generous and eat the last few pancakes on the plate to make room for the next batch.”

As Finn sits down next to Rey, he asks, “Where’s your cousin?”

Rey shrugs. “Probably still in bed. ‘Kylo Ren’ wakes up when he wants to.”

“I hope ‘Kylo Ren’ doesn’t mind eating cold pancakes,” Poe adds.

Finn looks from Poe to Rey. “Who’s Kylo Ren? I thought you said your cousin’s name is Ben?”

“Well, yeah, that’s his name,” Rey smiles. “But he wants to be called ‘Kylo Ren.’”

“Why?”

Rey chuckles. “Beats me. At first I thought it was weird, but now I’m finding it pretty fun to use. ‘Kylo Ren’ is still in bed. ‘Kylo Ren’ is snuggled under his blankets, gently snoozing.”

Poe starts to get into it. “‘Kylo Ren’ is in his pajamas, sawing logs.”

“Maybe this ‘Kylo Ren’ thing could catch on!” Rey says.

Poe laughs. “It’s a ‘Kylo Renaissance!’”

Finn looks toward the kitchen. “Um, guys…”

Ben stands in the kitchen, blushing and fuming. When he sees them all looking at him, he announces, “I’ll be eating breakfast in my room.” He stacks pancakes on his plate, pours syrup over them, and stomps off.

Han and Leia watch him go, then turn to look at the three at the table. They don’t look mad; instead, they look like they’re curious about how Rey, Poe, and Finn will react to Ben’s dramatic departure. Their eyes linger on Rey, and she feels guilty for having made fun of Ben, but she can’t shake the thought that he deserved it.

Luke, Han, and Leia all have suggestions for things to add to the pancakes the second time around, and whipped cream, strawberries, chocolate syrup, honey, and melted butter have all joined the maple syrup on the table.

They are quieter as they eat their second helping of pancakes, perhaps as a result of the added toppings requiring more concentration to eat, and perhaps because Han, Leia, and Luke have joined them at the table.They finish eating, and Han heads out to give Chewie a walk.

Rey helps Leia with the dishes. Rey washes the dishes and Leia dries them and puts them away. Leia tells Rey, “We don’t have any big plans for lunch, so feel free to put together some sandwiches when you’re hungry. Anything in the fridge is fair game, and feel free to check the cabinets and cupboards for condiments and anything else you need.”

“Thanks.” Rey concentrates on the dishes for a while, then asks, “Ben’s going to be okay, right?”

Leia gives a short laugh. “I’m sure he’ll survive.”

“It’s just… he looked pretty mad.”

“It’s nice of you to worry about him. Honestly, he’s been moody over nothing so often that it’s a nice change of pace to see him moody for a reason.”

Rey hands a dripping plate to Leia. “I wonder why he does the whole ‘Kylo Ren’ thing anyway?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I think he was hoping you’d find it kind of cool.”

Rey raises her eyebrows. “Cool?”

“I think he’s going for the whole ‘misunderstood loner’ thing.” She sees the look on Rey’s face. “I know, he can’t quite pull it off.”

“What can I do?”

“Be patient with him. Try to remember how it was when he was younger, when you used to be pretty good friends.”

“He was pretty strange back then, too,” Rey says, before stopping. She looks at Leia to see if she is offended, but to her relief, Leia laughs.

“Yeah, that’s true. But you know, there are times when I see that there’s still lightness left in him. You just have to give him a chance. Well, maybe several chances.”

“I’ll try to be patient with him,” says Rey, and she hopes she can manage it.

Leia gives Rey a friendly bump with her shoulder. “Of course, you can still give him a hard time every now and then. A little good-natured teasing never hurt anyone, and to be honest, it may do him some good.” Leia’s eyes crease with a smile.

Rey smiles, too. Her dad has told her enough stories about Leia that Rey knows that her aunt knows what she’s talking about.

When the dishes are done, Rey walks into the living room to find Finn and Poe watching television. Finn leans forward every now and then to pet Chewbacca, who sits patiently nearby. “What’s on?” Rey asks.

“A show about how aliens worked with the Babylonians to build their civilization,” says Finn.

Poe groans. “There’s nothing on. Hence the aliens.”

“Well, let’s watch a DVD, then.” Rey opens a cabinet by the television and reveals rows of DVDs. “Are you guys in the mood for anything?” She doesn’t want to suggest something herself, for fear that Finn or Poe might think her suggestion is uncool.

“What about this show on aliens?” Finn protests.

“You really found it interesting?” Poe asks.

“Well….” Finn trails off.

Poe peers at the collection of DVD box sets. “It looks like they have X-Files. Have you seen that before?” Finn shakes his head, and Poe smiles. “If you want to watch a show about aliens, you should watch X-Files. What do you think, Rey?”

“Sounds good to me.” Rey doesn’t mention that she has only seen a handful of episodes, because her dad worries that it’s too scary for her. She’s twelve now, and almost a teenager, and she’s sure her father wouldn’t embarrass her by stopping her from watching a show in front of her friends. Well, she’s pretty sure, at least. “How about you, Finn? Would you mind switching from Babylonian aliens to X-Files?”

Finn shrugs and smiles. “Whatever you guys want to do.”

Rey opens the Season One box and puts the first disc into the DVD player. She sits down on the couch. Sitting between Finn and Poe in a room full of Christmas decorations, she is sure that nothing in the show is going to scare her.

Before the first episode is even over, she jumps at the appearance of a misshapen corpse. To her relief, Finn seems even more bothered by it than she is.

“Augh! What is that?”

Poe smiles reassuringly. “Just remember that it’s only a prop. Actually, it’s a pretty cool-looking one.” He pauses the DVD on a still frame of the grotesque body. “Look how well-made it is! Can you imagine being someone who creates things like that for a living?”

Finn is looking kind of pale and sweating a bit. Rey reaches for the remote. “Come on, Poe. That thing’s gross.”

“Okay, sorry,” says Poe, playing the DVD again. “I didn’t realize how much it bothered you both. If you like, I could fast forward through this scene.”

Rey tries to sound unruffled. “No, it’s fine, just don’t pause it. For Finn’s sake,” she adds. She turns to Finn to see if he minds her using him as an excuse, but he actually looks relieved.

“Thanks,” he says, keeping his voice quiet so that Poe can’t hear. “I’m not really used to watching this sort of thing. My folks don’t allow it.”

Rey gives him a private smile. “I’m not really used to it, either.” Finn responds with his own smile of relief.

At the end of the episode, Ben comes downstairs and sits sideways in an armchair with his feet draped over the armrest. He glances at the TV, then takes out a Nintendo 3DS, puts earbuds into his ears, and starts playing a game. He holds the screen so that the others can’t see what he’s playing.

Rey remembers what Leia told her. “Hey, Ben. What are you playing?”

He flicks his eyes over at her, then back at his screen.

Poe frowns, but Rey persists. “Sorry, ‘Kylo Ren.’ What are you playing?”

Ben rolls his eyes and sighs loudly, and he takes his earbuds out with the air of someone doing her a huge favor. “I can hear the sarcastic quotes around ‘Kylo Ren’ when you say it like that,” he says.

“Sorry.” She casts her mind back on the game they played together when they were younger. “Do you have the latest Pokemon game?”

Ben snorts. “I’m playing a Japanese RPG with a sophisticated advancement system and deep tactical combat.”

Poe smirks at Ben’s pretentious tone, but Rey tries to keep her voice friendly. “Okay, sorry. Good luck!”

“Thanks,” says Ben, his tone flat. He puts his ear buds back in.

Finn leans close to Rey and whispers, “If he just wants to play his game, why did he come downstairs?” He is so close that Rey can feel the warmth of his breath on her ear.

She shrugs, unsure of a reply. She is saved from having to say anything by Poe starting the next episode.

By about halfway through the episode, Ben is watching the show along with them, his earbuds out and his 3DS lying forgotten in his lap. Ben glances at the others, and Rey gives him an encouraging smile. Ben looks away and opens his 3DS again.

“That _is_ Pokemon!” Rey exclaims when she sees the screen.

Ben frowns, turning away the 3DS too late. “Yeah, well, it’s a well-made RPG. I’m not playing it for the cute animals or anything.”

Rey puts on a smile. “If you’d like to play together later, I brought my 3DS. It’s downstairs with my stuff.”

Ben’s eyes are locked to his screen. “Yeah. Whatever.” A moment passes, and his eyes dart over to Rey. “Maybe.” Quick as that, his eyes are back on his screen, but Rey is pretty sure he saw her grin.

Ben tries to keep his eyes on his 3DS this time, but whenever something exciting happens on the television, he can’t help but look over. After the episode, he stands and declares, “I’m hungry,” before walking to the kitchen. “Since you all don’t know where anything is,” he says, somehow making it sound like it’s their fault, “I’ll show you where to find things for sandwiches.” He starts arranging sandwich ingredients and condiments on the kitchen counter.

Before Rey can follow Ben, Poe leans over to her. “Hey, I know you’re trying to be nice to your cousin, but you don’t have to. Don’t let his bad attitude ruin your Christmas vacation.”

“I don’t think he’s going to ruin Christmas,” Rey says.

Finn whispers, “Well, he’s really being a jerk.”

“He’s not that bad. You guys don’t know him.” Rey surprises herself by defending Ben to her friends, but then again, he is her cousin.

Finn goes silent, and even Poe looks taken aback. “Okay, well, you know him best.” He looks unconvinced, but the three of them go into the kitchen to make some sandwiches.

Chewbacca follows them, and Rey finds the bag of dog food.

“How much does he get?” she asks Ben, not expecting a useful reply.

Grudgingly, he responds, “Just fill his bowl halfway for lunch. He’s supposed to be on a diet.”

Rey pours some food into Chewbacca’s bowl. When she finishes, the dog keeps watching her expectantly, as though waiting for her to continue.

“Nice try,” she tells him. “That’s all you get.” She rubs his head to take any sting out of her tone, and Chewie starts eating.

Rey washes her hands and joins the others in making some sandwiches. When the sandwiches are done, Poe and Finn return to the living room to watch more X-Files. Rey stays behind to help Ben put away the ingredients.

“You don’t have to help,” Ben grumbles. “It’s not like you know where anything goes.”

Rey grits her teeth and forces herself not to snap at him. “I know what goes in the fridge, so I can put those things away.” Rey puts a jar of mustard into the fridge to demonstrate. It does not take them long to clear everything away, though Ben rolls his eyes and sighs as if Rey is always in his way. When they are done, Ben takes his sandwiches and goes into the living room.

“You’re welcome,” Rey mutters.

She rejoins the others, and Poe starts another episode of X-Files. They eat while watching the show, though Rey loses her appetite somewhat about halfway through the episode. Thankfully, her youthful metabolism overcomes any squeamishness, and her hunger returns once the episode is over, so she finishes her sandwiches.

When everyone is done eating, Rey gathers up their plates and returns them to the sink. She spots some bags of chips in the dining room. “Hey, Ben, is it okay to eat these chips?”

“I guess,” says Ben, before remembering that he’s not responding to the name “Ben” any more.

Rey brings some chips into the living room and they all start eating chips while watching X-Files. It occurs to Rey that she has been at her aunt and uncle’s place for less than 24 hours, and already it feels normal to sit on the couch with a boy she had never met before yesterday, another boy she had never hung out with outside of school, and her weird cousin.

Her dad, her aunt, and her uncle come by to eat lunch at one point. Han is on the verge of giving Chewbacca his lunch when Rey notices and points out that the dog has already eaten. She calls Chewie over to scratch his neck so that he does not get in the way in the kitchen.

Two episodes later, the phone in the kitchen rings, so Ben grunts, gets up, and answers it. After a moment, he covers the receiver and yells, “Mom! Dad! Phone!” Considering his job done, he sets the phone on the counter and returns to his armchair and 3DS.

Leia emerges from the basement carrying the mystery novel she had been reading. She looks at Ben. “Where’s the phone?”

“Kitchen.”

Leia purses her lips and hands her book to Ben, holding it open on her page. “Don’t lose my spot.” She hurries into the kitchen and picks up the phone. “Hello?” She listens for a moment. “Yes, he’s here.”

Rey feels Finn freeze up next to her as let out a small gasp. “It’s my folks!” he whispers.

Leia continues on the phone, “Yes, that’s right…. I didn’t know that…. Really?”

Finn sinks back in despair. “Oh, I’m so much trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” Rey pats his knee.

Poe reaches past Rey’s shoulder to squeeze Finn’s arm. “It’ll be all right.”

“You guys don’t know my folks,” says Finn, his eyes wide but his voice leaden. “I’m dead.”

Ben speaks up from where he’s draped over his armchair. “My mom will take care of it.”

Finn is so surprised to hear Ben say something encouraging that he looks over at Ben with hope, but Ben’s eyes are on his 3DS. “Are you sure?” asks Finn.

“Just watch.” Ben smirks, but Rey can see the pride on his face. “My mom has a gift.”

Leia is saying, “Well, certainly…. Naturally…. I understand….” She keeps her tone neutral, always allowing the other person to talk. Her voice takes on a gentle, rich note when she says, “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. He can stay until the weather improves.” Finn’s eyes are glued to Leia, but Rey notices Ben smiling, as though he already knows how the conversation will go.

Leia listens for a while before speaking again. If anything, her voice is even gentler now, but Rey can hear the new steel in it. “I really don’t think that will be necessary. The roads aren’t safe to drive on. He’ll be just fine here with us…. Yes, I really do think so. I think today may have been the last day anyone could make the drive safely. The blizzard is really and truly on us now.”

There is an even longer silence. Poe glances at Finn’s face. “Breathe, Finn. It’s under control.” Finn breathes in deeply and lets it out.

Leia finally speaks. “I understand that you feel that way, and I respect your views. I have a son about Finn’s age, and I would want to be careful about where he spends the night as well. It’s always hard to cut the apron-strings.” She laughs, and the laugh sounds so genuine that Rey knows that it signals victory. Leia continues, “If you give me your number, I’ll be sure to call you if anything should happen.” She writes down a number on a notepad on the wall. “Thanks very much for calling. The next time he visits, we’ll be sure to let you know beforehand. Goodbye.”

She hangs up, and Rey jumps a little when Poe rises from the chair, lets out a whoop, and starts to applaud. Finn joins in after a moment, and then Rey and even Ben join in. Leia walks into the living room smiling. She looks at Finn. “Interesting folks.”

Ben sighs from his armchair. “You get to stay with us. Yay.”

Finn runs over to Leia. He looks like he wants to hug her at first, but he changes his mind and shakes her hand instead. “Thank you so, so much.”

“It was no trouble at all,” Leia says, though she looks pleased. She sees the bags of chips. “Don’t spoil your appetites. Luke is making lasagna tonight.” She takes her book back from Ben and heads back downstairs.

As evening approaches, Luke gets started on the lasagna. When he sees that they are watching X-Files, he remarks, “Ah, X-Files. Very Christmassy.” Rey worries that he might tell them to stop, but he leaves it at that.

When dinner is ready and the dog has been fed, they all sit at the dinner table and eat together. Some parts of the lasagna got a little too crispy, but overall it tastes great.

“Well, I’m glad I could be some use,” says Luke.

“So, how was X-Files?” asks Leia.

Poe, Finn, and Rey each talk about their favorite parts. Ben chimes in with some things he liked, and nobody is surprised to learn that he was paying more attention than he pretended to be.

After dinner, Han gathers the plates. “Hey, Ben, how about helping me with the dishes?”

“Ugh, Dad….”

“C’mon, ‘Kylo Ren.’ You’re not going to make your cousin do dishes twice in one day, are you?”

“Fine.” Ben gathers up everyone’s cups and follows Han into the kitchen.

Rey, Poe, and Finn return to the living room, but as they’re sitting down, Luke tells them, “You three have spent all day in front of that television. Don’t you want to do something else for the evening?” He gets three blank looks, but he is undaunted. “How about some board games? Han and Leia have a closet full of them downstairs. Rey, you know where they are.”

Rey turns to her friends. “Do you guys want to play some board games?”

Finn nods. “Yeah, that sounds fun!”

“Why not?” asks Poe.

They head downstairs, and Rey shows them the closet full of board games. Many of the boxes are torn at the corners and the games themselves run the spectrum from colorful games for small children to bland games for adults. Rey is a little embarrassed to see the same boxes of Mousetrap, Life, and Sorry that she played with when she visited in past years, but nobody comments on them. Instead, they select Settlers of Catan and bring it upstairs, setting it up on the dining room table.

“So, how do you play?” asks Finn.

Poe gives him a look. “You’ve never played Settlers of Catan?”

Finn frowns. “We don’t play a lot of board games in my family.”

Poe gives a low whistle. “None at all?”

“Well… we play checkers.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve played, too,” says Rey, who has truthfully only played once, at a friend’s birthday party several months ago. “So I could use a refresher on the rules.”

“Settlers of Catan is a brilliant game of masterful strategy,” Poe begins. When he has gone over the rules, they set up the game and begin.

At first, Rey trades mostly with Finn, since she does not trust Poe, the most experienced player. Finn has such a guileless way of asking for trades that Rey and Poe have trouble turning him down. As a result, Finn ends up doing surprisingly well, and before Rey realizes it, Finn is nearly poised to win.

“Don’t give him any more resources!” Poe warns as Finn asks Rey for sheep.

Rey gives Finn an apologetic smile. “Sorry, you’re about to win.”

Finn grins. “I know.” The three of them all laugh together.

It takes a few more turns, but sure enough, Finn is the victor. They pack up the game and take it downstairs. They were all yawning through the end of the game, so they decide that it is time to turn in.

This time, when Rey gets into bed, Finn and Poe join her soon after. Finn’s sleeping bag is closest to Rey’s sofa bed, and Poe’s is nearest the stairs. Finn wears matching gray pajama pants and shirt, while Poe wears flannel pajama pants and a large Beatles t-shirt.

Rey is glad that it’s dark so they can’t see her blush.

They wish each other good night. Rey lies quietly, listening to their breathing and trying to determine whose is whose. The strangeness of having two boys sleeping in the room keeps her awake. Instead, her thoughts tumble over each other, unsure where to settle.

In the darkness, Finn says, “One the phone, your aunt said I might visit again. Do you think that might really happen?”

“I’m sure it will,” says Rey.

“That’s good.”

They are quiet for a while.

Finn asks, “Do you think there’s really alien life out there?”

Rey chuckles. “I dunno. Go to sleep, Finn.”

They lie in darkness for a few more minutes.

“No but seriously,” says Finn. He sounds worried.

“Listen, buddy,” says Poe, his voice muffled with sleep. “If any aliens come to get you, they’ll have to take me first, since I’m closest to the door.” He yawns. “Does that help?”

“Yeah. It helps a little. Thanks, Poe.”

“Anytime.”

Rey drifts off with a smile still on her face.


	3. Christmas Eve

Rey wakes up at some point in the night to a completely dark room. She can hear the soft, deep breathing of Poe and Finn, and she knows she is the only one awake. In the darkness, in an unfamiliar bed, everything takes on an unreal quality, as though she is in a reality where things like school do not exist. She lies in the darkness, with nowhere she has to be and nothing she has to do. The basement has grown a little chillier in the night, so she tucks the blankets around herself until she feels warm again. She lies awake, enjoying the feeling of contentment, until she drifts off to sleep again.

 

Morning arrives slowly. The basement is still a little chilly, but it is warm in her blankets, so she is reluctant to get up. She peeks over the side of her bed to see that Finn has scrunched himself up inside his sleeping bag, so that he looks like an insect in a cocoon. He shifts so that half his face disappears under his blanket. Poe is lying stretched out, still asleep, his head tilted back and his mouth open as he breathes deeply.

Rey gets up to use the bathroom, taking care to step carefully around the two sleeping bags. When she returns, she hears a sleepy “Good morning” from within Finn’s sleeping bag.

“Good morning,” Rey says softly before climbing back into her bed. The bed is still warm, so she gets back under the covers and snoozes.

Nobody seems to be in much of a hurry to do anything but sleep. Over the course of the next hour or so, Finn and Poe get up to use the bathroom, but both of them choose to get back in bed afterward.

As Luke passes through the room toward the stairs, he pauses to check on Rey.

“Is it time to get up?” Rey asks, her voice slurred with sleep.

“You can stay in bed if you like,” says Luke. “There’s no plan for breakfast today, so everyone is on their own to eat when they want.”

“Okay.” Rey can feel herself drifting off into a pleasant doze again.

At some point, the house’s heating kicks in. The chill outside the blankets slowly disappears. Rey feels the pleasant lethargy of a lazy morning lift, and she finally gets up and out of bed. She rummages around in her suitcase for some clothes before going to the bathroom to get dressed.

There is a general movement toward the kitchen in the house. Despite the slow pace of the morning, almost everyone seems to arrive at the same time for breakfast. The exceptions are Luke, who is already eating a bowl of shredded wheat in the living room while reading a magazine, and Chewie, who has already had his breakfast and now seems intent on inspecting what everyone else is having.

The people in the kitchen all get in each other’s way as they secure a variety of foods for breakfast. Han and Leia find themselves some bagels while Poe introduces Finn to toaster waffles, a concept that delights Finn. There is something of a traffic jam as Ben is the first to the toaster.

“You’ve got it set too low!” Poe laments. “It will take forever!”

Ben sniffs, “This is the best setting for toaster pastries. Low heat ensures they get heated through evenly.”

Finn tries to be reasonable. “If you’re going to take longer, you could have let us go first.”

“If you’re so hungry, you could have gotten up earlier.”

Poe crosses his arms. “Come on, Ben. You’re making everyone else wait.”

Ben throws up his arms. “It’s not my fault there’s only one toaster!”

Leia says, “There’s no need to be dramatic. They’re just Pop-tarts.”

“Everyone’s against me,” Ben grumbles, turning his back on them and staring at the toaster.

Rey slips past him and lifts the knob at the front of the toaster so that the Pop-tarts bounce up with a ding. As Ben protests, Rey pulls them from the toaster and drops them onto his plate.

Ben takes his plate and stalks into the living room, trying to preserve his dignity. He holds his head high, and as a result, he almost trips over Chewie. One of his Pop-tarts slips from his plate and falls to the floor, and Ben is not fast enough to prevent the old dog from giving it a slobbery-faced sniff. Ben lifts his slightly damp breakfast from the floor, wipes it on his shirt, and retreats upstairs to his room.

“Okay, who’s next?” Rey asks, turning around. “Aunt Leia? Uncle Han?”

Leia waves her hand at the toaster. “I think the hero of the hour should get to go first. Since you liberated the toaster, you can go first!”

“Just turn up the heat first, will ya?” Han asks with a smile.

“No thanks.” Rey beams. “I’m having cereal. I just wanted to make sure Ben didn’t hold things up for everyone!”

Finn laughs and cheers, and Poe, Han, and Leia join him in applauding Rey.

Blushing, Rey makes herself a bowl of cereal and pours a glass of orange juice, then sits down at the dining room table. Chewie follows her from the kitchen and flops down against her legs. Rey pets him with one foot while eating cereal.

When their food is done, Finn and Poe join her at the table.

“I don’t know about you guys,” says Finn, smiling, “but I had some pretty freaky dreams last night after all that X-Files!” He seems genuinely excited about it.

“I think I mostly just dreamed about going back to school after the holidays,” says Poe. “Honestly, I might have preferred some freaky X-Files dreams.”

“Ugh, don’t talk about school.” Finn rolls his eyes. “I’m trying to forget that school even exists. Why can’t it be Christmas vacation all the time?”

Rey replies, “We wouldn’t enjoy Christmas vacation so much if it were Christmas vacation all the time.”

Poe nods. “I think you’re right. I think it’s the knowledge that this time is fleeting that makes it so special.”

Leia enters the room, carrying her bagel on a plate. “Well well, looks like we’ve got a bunch of philosophers over here. Mind if I join you?” she sits down next to Rey. “Are you sure the best thing about Christmas break isn’t the presents?”

“Those are pretty great, too,” Rey admits.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll love the socks we got you. Nice and woolly.”

Poe grins. “Did you get me anything?”

“Yeah, your paycheck,” Leia deadpans. She looks at Finn, whose face is eager, though he doesn’t dare ask. “And we got you something, too, Finn. We won’t tell you what it is.” She shrugs and smiles. “We just thought you should know you’re getting something, so you can join these other two in looking forward to Christmas morning.”

Rey asks, “You mean looking forward to woolly socks?”

Han joins them at the table. “Hey, don’t knock woolly socks. They’ll really keep your feet warm.” Rey gives him a mock scowl, and Han looks to Leia for help.

“Well, all right,” says Leia. “It’s possible that you’re getting more than just woolly socks. But you won’t find out until Christmas morning.”

When they’re done with breakfast, Rey, Poe, and Finn go to the living room. They’re partway through the first season of X-Files, and since none of them can think of anything else they’d rather do, it’s easy for them to slip back into the show. It feels something like inertia: now that they have started watching a TV series, it’s hard to stop.

Before they know it, it’s time for lunch.

“Who’s going to help me make nachos?” Han calls from the kitchen. Chewbacca barks. “Thanks for the offer, pal,” says Han, scratching the dog’s neck. “If anyone wants some dog drool on their nachos, they’ll know who to go to.”

Finn, Rey, and Poe arrive to help. “All right,” says Han. “Now, the trick to making nachos is layers. So, Poe, you start laying down the first layer of chips, and Finn, help me heat some beans.”

Rey pipes up, “What can I do to help?”

“Why don’t you run upstairs and see if Ben wants to join us?”

“Are you sure?” Rey makes a face.

Han gives a slightly cynical smile. “Hey, it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

Rey climbs the stairs. When she gets to the top, she looks around, suddenly aware of the fact that, whenever she visits, she rarely sees the upstairs part of the house. She can see the door to Han and Leia’s bedroom, along with the door to Leia’s study. There is a bathroom upstairs, and finally, Ben’s room. She knows it’s Ben’s room because there is a sheet of paper taped to the door with ‘Kylo Ren’ written on it in jagged, death metal-style lettering. Beneath the name, predictably, is the message ‘Keep Out!’

Rey knocks. “Hey, Ben. It’s Rey. Can I come in for a second?” Ben says something from inside the room, but Rey can’t make out the words. It doesn’t sound like a ‘no,’ so she turns the handle and slowly opens the door.

Ben’s room is a mess. His bed is unmade, with his plate from breakfast lying on top of the crumpled sheets. Piles of clothes lie around on the floor, along with comics and CDs. His walls are covered with ominous posters of what Rey assumes are bands, though there is little among them to suggest music.

Ben sits at his desk playing a video game, wearing a headset. “I’m right behind you, Hux! Watch out, I saw a guy on our right. Let me see if I can… Oh, you got him, Phasma. Good job.”

“Hi, Ben,” says Rey.

Ben doesn’t react. He leans in toward his monitor, barely blinking as he taps the keys with his left hand and slides the mouse around with his right. “Hang on, I think a vehicle just spawned.Okay, Phasma, you can have it. Do you need a gunner? All right, Hux, I guess you’re gunner. I’ll follow along behind… hey, wait up!”

“Ben!” says Rey, louder this time.

Ben spins around in his chair, scowling and pulling his headset off one ear. “What?” His friends must be talking in the game, because he moves the microphone closer to his mouth. “Hang on, guys. It’s my cousin, the one who’s staying with us.”

Rey notices a message appear on the computer screen. “Ben, your game…”

He turns and sees the message, letting out a groan of frustration. “Great! Now we’ve lost. All right, you guys, I’m gonna sign off for now. I’ll probably be back later. Kylo Ren out.” He gives an enormous sigh as he exits the game and takes off his headset, dropping it onto a pile of empty potato chip bags on his desk. “You made me lose my game.”

Part of Rey wants to apologize, but her cousin is being such a jerk that instead she says, “I don’t think those ten seconds made that much of a difference.”

“What do you want?” Ben’s eyebrows are drawn, his expression standoffish.

“We’re making lunch--”

“I’m not hungry.” Somehow his tone of his voice makes it sound like it’s her fault.

“Your dad wanted to know if you’d like to help make nachos.” When Ben hesitates for a moment, perhaps trying to come up with a suitably biting response, Rey adds, “You’ve already quit your game, so you might as well.”

Ben scoffs. “You want me to make nachos?”

“The rest of us are.”

“Like I care what _your_ friends are doing.”

That almost sounds like the start of a conversation, so Rey takes the opportunity to cross the room, stepping over a sweater in the middle of the floor. She sits down on the bed. “You know, maybe if you were a little nicer sometimes, you could actually make friends with people.”

“I have friends.” Ben gestures at his headset. “I know them from school.”

“Well, Finn and Poe are here now, so you could try getting along with them.” Ben doesn’t respond, he just gives her an inscrutable look, as though he’s waiting for her to keep speaking. Or maybe he’s just waiting for her to leave. Rey stands up. “Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

She starts to leave when Ben says, “Do you really want me to come make nachos?”

That makes Rey pause. Does she want him to? She’d be perfectly happy making nachos with only Poe and Finn, and truth be told, she would probably enjoy it more without Ben. But another part of her feels like the rest of the visit would be more bearable if she tries to improve the situation with Ben. In any case, it should make her aunt and uncle happy. Ben’s eyes search her face as she makes up her mind.

She decides on an answer. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

He nods, says “All right,” and turns back to his computer.

Rey is almost out the door when Ben’s voice stops her. “Do you still want to play Pokemon later?” He is looking sideways at her, trying to look unconcerned.

“Maybe,” she says before turning and walking out.

When Han sees Rey return without Ben, he shrugs and smiles. “Figures. Do you want to chop these avocados for some guacamole?”

Making nachos with her friends turns out to be a lot of fun. There are things to slice, chop, mash, mix, and spread, and nothing is particularly difficult. It feels good to be contributing to something they are all making together. They all have their own tasks, but they work together too, passing each other things, helping pour things, and switching places when necessary. When the preparations are ready, Han asks Poe to feed Chewie, which gives them an opportunity to open the oven without worrying about the old dog getting too close. When the dish goes into the oven, they are all smiling.

“I’ll call you when it’s ready,” says Han, and they take the opportunity to return to the living room.

“Want to watch more X-Files?” Finn asks.

“I don’t think we have time for a full episode,” Poe replies.

Finn’s enthusiasm doesn’t waver. “Okay! How about a video game? I saw a bunch in the cabinet yesterday.”

Rey opens it again, and they gather around to look at the selection.

Poe takes one out. “How about some Smash Brothers? That’s a good multiplayer game.”

“I’ve only played it a few times, but it should be fun,” Rey says.

“I’ll try it!” says Finn.

Poe gives him a surprised look. “Okay, I get that your folks don’t let you do much, but you’ve never played Smash Brothers?” Finn looks embarrassed, so Poe quickly adds, “Well, now’s the time to remedy that!”

They switch the TV over to the Nintendo, put the game in, and grab their controllers before piling onto the couch. Poe chooses Starfox, Finn plays as Samus, and Rey selects Link. The first game is over quickly, as Poe demonstrates a variety of moves while Finn and Rey mostly fall off things. Rey and Finn start to get the hang of things in the second game, and Poe is happy to be of assistance, telling them how to do their characters’ moves and even giving them some space to practice. He wins the game anyway, but by a closer margin this time.

A timer rings in the kitchen, and Han’s voice calls, “Food’s almost ready! Just give it a few minutes to cool down.”

They play one more round, where Finn and Rey mostly gang up on Poe, knocking him out first. Rey earns the victory, after which they turn off the game and go to the kitchen.

Han asks, “Rey, do you think you could go upstairs and get Ben and Leia? I think your aunt is in her study. Finn, want to get Luke from downstairs?”

Rey is about to dash upstairs again when she sees Finn hesitate. “What is it?”

Finn thinks for a second. “Well, I don’t want to bother your dad….”

Rey laughs. “Come on. My dad’s super nice. He’s not gonna bite your head off for telling him that lunch is ready.” When Finn still frowns, Rey adds, “Just go downstairs, say ‘Hi Luke, lunch is ready,’ and come back upstairs.”

“Do you think it’s okay for me to call him Luke?”

“You’d better!” Rey says.

With that, Finn heads downstairs, and Rey climbs the stairs. She knocks on the door to Leia’s study.

“Yes?” Leia asks. “Come in!”

Rey opens the door, and Leia looks over from where she was writing something on the computer. “Hi, Rey.”

“Hi, Aunt Leia! What are you working on?”

“Just doing some writing for fun. Is lunch ready?”

“Yeah. It’s nachos.”

“Great! Let me finish this paragraph, and I’ll be right down. Are you getting Ben, too?”

Rey gives a half-smile. “Yeah.”

“Good luck!”

Rey crossed the hall to Ben’s door and knocks. “Hey, Ben. It’s Rey again.”

There is no answer. Rey contemplates simply opening the door, wondering if Ben would have the gall to lock it. She decides she will try something first. “Kylo Ren?”

“Yeah?” comes Ben’s voice.

Rey figures that’s as much of an invitation as she’s going to get. She opens the door, slightly gratified that it was not locked. “Lunch is ready. Hungry yet?”

Ben is lying on his bed, playing his 3DS. “Yeah, okay.” He puts the 3DS down, and before he switches it off, Rey sees that he was arranging his team in Pokemon. That may be promising, she decides.

Ben follows her down the stairs, slouching, but at least he is not complaining.

“Should we eat in the living room?” asks Han as people gather in the kitchen.

“Yes!” Finn replies instantly, since the experience of eating in the living room is still novel and exciting to him.

“All right, but nachos can be messy, so be careful,” Han warns. “Take a plate and a fork.”

They carry the nachos into the living room, along with the freshly-prepared guacamole and some sour cream. There is just barely enough room in the living room for everyone. The seating on the couch is pretty snug, though Rey finds that being between Finn and Poe is not so bad.

“Should we watch something?” Leia asks.

Before anyone else can suggest something, Luke adds, “Something Christmasy, since tomorrow is the big day?”

Finn and Poe pause, unsure of what to suggest. “Great,” Ben grumbles. “Christmas movies all suck.”

“How about the Grinch?” Luke suggests.

Ben moans in torment. “Anything but the Grinch.”

Leia smiles knowingly. “Okay, then how about ‘Miracle on 34th Street?’”

Ben’s moan turns into a wail. “That’s even worse than the Grinch!”

An idea strikes Rey. “How about ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas?’ That counts as a Christmas movie, right?”

Ben turns toward her so quickly that at first Rey is afraid she has offended him, but his eyes are shining with gratitude and, perhaps, a little admiration. “Yes. _Please._ ”

“That sounds good,” says Poe, and, as there are no objections, Luke puts the movie in.

Rey divides her attention between the movie, managing the food, and making sure that Chewbacca does not stick his nose in anything edible. There is still a little piece of her that takes a personal enjoyment in sitting wedged between Finn and Poe, occasionally nudging each other a bit as they reach for food.

When the nachos are all gone, Rey joins Luke in the kitchen to help make hot chocolate for everyone, though she ends up mostly watching the movie from the kitchen door because she doesn’t want to miss Oogie Boogie’s song.

Rey is a little bit sorry when the movie is over and some people head off, Leia upstairs to write, Luke downstairs to read, Han to the garage to work on his van, and Ben upstairs to play video games. This means that Finn and Poe have more room to spread out. Rey pets Chewbacca, silently thanking the dog for his loyalty as he lies at her feet and leans his side against her legs.

They return to playing Super Smash Brothers, trying out different stages and modes. Poe and Finn whoop, laugh, and trade some friendly smack-talk. When Rey joins in the jibes, declaring Samus’s power armor ‘garbage’ and boasting that she doesn’t need a blaster like Fox’s, Poe and Finn cheer with delight. Rey has never understood before how some people get so into video games, but Poe and Finn’s enthusiasm is infectious, and soon she is shouting and laughing along with them.

The commotion draws Ben down from his room. Rey hears him come down the stairs, but at first all he does is stand at the bottom of the stairs, watching, as though making up his mind. Finally, he picks up a controller and joins the game.

“Glad you could join us,” said Poe.

Ben selects Marth for his character. “If you’re going to play my video games, I figured I might as well play, too.”

They play a few free-for-all games. Rey notices that Poe and Finn tend to pick on Ben’s character, so she starts to take advantage of that to attack them when they are distracted.

“Hey, no fair,” says Finn, as Rey attacks him from behind to interrupt his attack on Ben.

Poe agrees. “Yeah, if you two are going to gang up on us, we should make it a team match.”

To Rey’s surprise, Ben seems up for it. “What do you think?” he asks, looking at her.

“Okay,” says Rey. While Ben is not her top choice for a teammate, perhaps this is a good opportunity to get him to ease up.

Things get off to a bad start. Ben starts giving her orders, even telling her which moves to use.Out of annoyance, Rey starts telling him what to do as well, which he seems to reject on principle. Finn and Poe, on the other hand, have a strong team dynamic right from the start, and they coordinate their strategy without even talking much.

As their team loses more lives, Rey adjusts her strategy. Instead of telling Ben what to do, she suggests overall strategies. What seems to seal the deal is when she calls him Kylo Ren, doing her best to say the name without sounding sarcastic. Poe and Finn snicker a bit, but Ben casts her a half-disbelieving look and accepts her suggestion.

Rey and Ben start to work together, and though they lose that round, their next round goes much better. Ben’s tone of voice shifts so that he is now offering ideas instead of giving orders, and a few times he even compliments her on a well-executed attack or a good idea.

It takes them a couple of rounds, but they finally win one. “Victory!” Ben exclaims, raising his arms in triumph. He raises his hand toward Rey for a high five, grinning with jubilation.

Rey is taken aback, and Ben hesitates, his hand hovering in the air. Before he can change his mind, Rey high-fives him. “Victory for Rey and Kylo Ren!” she says.

Poe and Finn cheer good-naturedly, congratulating the cousins, and even Chewie barks to add to the mood of good spirits.

Taking advantage of the pause in gaming, Poe indicates the window. “Looks like it’ll be dark soon. If we don’t want to spend all day indoors, we should probably head out now.”

Ben makes a sour face. “What’s there to do outside?”

“We could build a snowman,” Poe suggests.

“Ugh,” Ben says. “Pass.” He gets up and heads upstairs, and part of Rey is actually sorry to see him go.

“What about you two?” asks Poe, turning to Rey and Finn.

“I’m in!” says Finn.

Poe chuckles. “I had no doubt. Rey?”

“Sure, but just for a bit. It’s cold outside.”

They put on their coats and shoes and head out the back. Chewie follows them to the door, but he doesn’t follow them out, preferring it in the warm house. But Han comes by a minute later to take him on a walk, accompanied by Leia and Luke.

“I’m glad to see you’re not spending your whole day cooped up inside!” Luke says, and Rey doesn’t have the heart to tell her dad that they only left the house a short time ago.

Rey only has woolly gloves, which soak through quickly as she tries to roll up a ball of snow for a snowman. Poe does not have any gloves at all, but he still manages to roll up a larger ball of snow. When he is done, his hands are pink with cold.

Finn, meanwhile, is too busy making snow angels to help with the snowman. As a result, Rey and Poe’s snowman is quite stubby. They only manage two balls of snow, the top one significantly smaller than the bottom one.

Poe looks it over while blowing on his hands to warm them. “Not bad.”

“I think it looks cute,” says Rey. She looks around for something to add to the snowman, and finds a stone which she places in the top ball as an eye. She cannot find another stone, so the snowman ends up with only one eye.

Snow begins falling again, and as the light begins to fade, the three of them go back inside.

Finn shivers as they take off their shoes. Poe looks at him with concern. “Finn, your coat is soaked through! You were lying in the snow too long.”

Finn smiles despite his chattering teeth. “It was worth it.”

“Here, take your coat off,” Poe says, removing his own jacket. When Finn has removed his coat, Poe makes him put on Poe’s jacket. “There. Better?”

Finn nods in gratitude.

Rey boils some water and makes some tea. “Careful, it’s hot,” she says as Poe and Finn both take a mug.

They sit at the table and drink their tea while warming up. At one point, Ben comes by for a snack. As he takes an orange from a bowl of fruit, he gives them a smug look. “I told you it wasn’t worth it.”

“It was totally worth it!” Finn replies with total earnesty.

Ben shrugs and walks off.

When the grown-ups return, they announce that it is time to get started on dinner. “It won’t take long,” Leia advises, “so don’t go far.”

Dinner turns out to be spaghetti. Since there are so many of them, the noodles are boiled in a huge pot, while Han and Leia make the spaghetti sauce in a smaller pot. When the food is ready, and when Chewie has been fed, everyone takes a bowl and gathers at the dining room table.

Luke tells the kids, “Christmas vacation will be over before you know it, so make sure you don’t waste it.”

Poe smiles at Finn and Rey. “But wasting time is what vacations are all about!”

Luke laughs. “Well, if that’s what you want to do, then by all means!”

Leia adds, “Just as long as you don’t have any regrets when it’s time to go back to school.”

“How could we have regrets?” Finn asks. “This is the best Christmas vacation ever!”

Ben scowls. “I thought this was your first Christmas vacation ever.” He means it as a complaint, but it comes out sounding like the punchline to a joke, so everyone starts laughing. Ben scowls harder, though his scowl eases once he realizes they are not laughing at him.

When dinner is over, Poe offers to help Luke with the dishes. “We’ve had both spaghetti and nachos today,” Luke cautions. “So there’s going to be a lot of scrubbing.”

Finn stands up. “In that case, I’d like to help, too!” Poe gives Finn a warm smile of gratitude, and Finn beams in response.

Left temporarily without Finn or Poe to do things with, Rey heads downstairs and gets her 3DS. She brings it up to the living room in the hope that Ben will see her playing Pokemon and offer to play with her, but instead it seems that Ben has disappeared up to his room. Rey plays by herself.

When the dishes are done, Luke comes out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a dish towel. “Maybe we should start turning in. It’s getting late.”

Finn blinks at him in surprise. “It’s late?”

“We can’t go to bed yet!” Rey protests. “It’s Christmas eve!”

“Well, okay,” says Luke. “Come on, let’s get everyone together for some games before bedtime.”

When Rey fetches Ben, she sees that he was playing Pokemon in his room. She doesn’t say anything about it to him, though she’s slightly peeved that he could have been playing with her.

With everyone gathered downstairs, Luke asks, “So, who has some suggestions for what to play?”

After a moment of silence, Leia asks, “How about some Monopoly? We used to play Monopoly all the time when you were younger.”

“Ugh, not Monopoly,” Ben groans.

“You don’t like Monopoly?” Finn seems genuinely curious.

Ben scoffs. “It’s always plainly obvious who’s going to win after a few turns, and after that, it’s a slow spiral into oblivion for the other players.”

“A slow spiral into oblivion?” Poe grins. “Sounds like just your thing, ‘Kylo Ren!’”

Before Ben can respond, Rey quickly says, “We can try Monopoly, and when the first person gets knocked out, we’ll count up everyone else’s money and properties and see who the winner is. That way it doesn’t get too dragged out.”

“Fine,” Ben grunts.

Luke and Rey clear things off the table while Han goes downstairs for the game. “You know,” says Luke, “I think you inherited your aunt’s gift for diplomacy.”

Rey shrugs. “I just didn’t want to give an argument a chance to get started.”

Leia is listening from the kitchen, and she says, “Sometimes I think that preventing an argument from starting is the true essence of diplomacy.”

“We’ll see how long that can last,” Rey muses. “After all, we’re about to play Monopoly.”

Han arrives with the game box, everyone reconvenes at the dining room table. They set up the game and decide on house rules. Han is a big proponent of adding any tax money and money paid as a result of Chance and Community Chest cards in the center of the board, to be given to the next person to land on Free Parking. “It makes the game a little more interesting,” he says, with a carefree smile.

“You mean it just delays the inevitable,” grumbles Ben, but the general feeling is that it is a fun rule, and they decide to use it.

Han also offers to be the banker, but when Leia decrees that there will be no ‘loans’ offered by the bank, and definitely no ‘embezzlement’ of funds, Han lets someone else be the banker. Luke takes on the role.

The game starts well enough, with everyone picking up at least one property, railroad, or utility. Right from the start, Han starts trying to make deals with people, and Poe happily starts negotiating with him, even going so far as to offer future properties he might acquire later as part of current deals. For all their elaborate negotiating, no actual deals are made, though Rey gets the impression that Poe and Han don’t mind; it’s the haggling that really interests them.

Throughout the game, people feel bumps against their legs as Chewie walks around under the table, checking on each of them in turn. Han starts asking for advice every time Chewie passes by, nodding afterward as though he has received sage wisdom.

Finn is the first to acquire a monopoly, one of the least valuable ones, when Leia trades him for a property that puts her closer to a more valuable monopoly. Finn gives the table a grin as he puts up a few houses. “I’m in charge now!”

Han’s next turn sees a string of doubles take him halfway around the board, but he rolls too many doubles and ends up in jail. Seeing that Leia has a ‘Get out of jail free’ card, he asks her, “Hey, how about bailing me out?”

Leia laughs. “Not this time,” she says, earning a hurt look from Han and laughs from the other players.

Ben, despite his dire predictions earlier in the evening, manages to amass a good collection of properties. He trades with Finn to give Finn all the railroads and Ben a mid-level monopoly.

Luke, seeing the monopoly, says, “You know, when we played with your granddad, he would always try to get that same monopoly.”

“My grandfather had the right idea,” Ben boasts, waving a hand over the board. “Soon, I will finish what he started.”

Han and Poe, for all their earlier attempts at forging elaborate deals, never actually manage to secure any advantageous trades, and as a result they both start to run short of funds. When Han lands on one of Rey’s properties, he offers to pay with a property that would complete a high-ranking monopoly for her. “You might need this,” he says, avoiding eye contact.

Rey gives him a confident smile. “I’m doing pretty well. I think I stand a pretty good chance of winning.”

Han looks over at her and widens his eyes. “That’s why I’m giving it to you.” Rey accepts the property with a laugh, and starts building on it on her next turn.

Poe lands on one of Ben’s developed properties on his next turn, and Ben is nearly overcome with anticipation. Poe offers one of his properties in exchange for not having to pay the rent on the territory.

“You know I can take what I want,” scoffs Ben. “That property will be mine anyway when you can’t pay the rent.”

Rey jumps in and offers to pay Poe enough for the territory to allow him to pay the rent. “That’s not how you play the game!” Ben protests as Poe gratefully accepts the deal. “I can show you how to really win at this game. Let me teach you.”

Rey turns him down, and he glares at her. Rey tries to avoid eye contact in the hope that he’ll get over it soon, but as the game starts to slide more and more in Rey’s favor, Ben’s sour mood only worsens. He tries to build on his properties every chance he gets in the hope that someone will land on them, but instead he finds himself without cash when his token ends up on one of Rey’s monopolies.

Poe and Finn start clapping as Ben is forced to start selling his hotels to pay the rent on Rey’s property. Seeing how sullen Ben is getting, Rey almost wants to ask Poe and Finn to stop, but at the same time she can’t help but enjoy their enthusiasm.

The game ends when Han lands on one of Ben’s remaining properties with houses, and he is unable to pay. “Thank you,” Ben says as he takes Han’s properties and remaining cash.

They count their cash and the values of their properties, and Rey is the clear winner. Everyone but Ben congratulates her, though Ben only folds his arms and glares wordlessly. Rey decides to ignore him, and she beams at her family and friends. Chewbacca, not wanting to be left out, stands up to place his front paws on her thigh and plant a slobbery kiss on her chin.

With the game over, everyone hands Luke their cash and properties to be returned to the box. As Rey holds out her stack to him, he gives her a long look of pride before accepting them.

Ben quickly abandons the table to go upstairs, but everyone else lingers to say goodnight. When Rey finally goes downstairs to get ready for bed, she finds that the downstairs room is already starting to feel familiar and comfortable.

She stays awake long enough to wish Finn and Poe good night as both of them get into their sleeping bags, and then she drifts off to sleep.


	4. Christmas Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's February, but I finally got to the Christmas Day chapter!
> 
> I don't know much about Pokemon, so I apologize ahead of time for whatever I got wrong.

When Rey first awakens, it is still dark. She can just barely make out the shapes of Poe and Finn, still asleep. Before she falls back asleep, she thinks to herself that she must be growing up, because it’s Christmas morning and she is choosing to sleep in a little longer, rather than running upstairs to open her presents the moment she wakes up.

* * *

When she wakes up again later that morning, an electric feeling surges through her. It’s Christmas morning! She sits up in bed, instantly awake. All thoughts of being too grown-up disappear.

Finn stirs and stretches in his sleeping bag, slowly waking up.

“Hey Finn! Good morning!” Rey says, trying to keeping her voice quiet.

Finn must sense something in her tone, because he sits up immediately. He looks at Rey with wide eyes. “It’s Christmas morning!”

“It’s Christmas morning!” Rey echoes. She can feel the enormous smile on her face.

Finn’s smile matches hers. “That’s when we get to open our presents, right?”

“Yeah, ‘cuz it’s Christmas morning!” Rey says.

Which prompts another “Christmas morning!” from Finn, and they both start laughing.

Poe rolls over away from them, his voice fuzzy with sleep. “Okay, okay, it’s Christmas morning.”

Finn and Rey lean toward each other for another round of “Christmas morning,” while trying to keep their laughter in check.

“What time do you think it is?” Finn whispers.

Rey has no idea. The basement has no windows, so there is no way to know if the sun has risen. “Let me check my phone.” She rummages around in her pile of stuff, careful to keep any underwear buried among her other clothes.

“You want to know what time it is?” Poe groans from his sleeping bag. “Too early! That’s what time it is!”

Rey taps her phone. “It’s almost five thirty. That’s practically morning!”

“Yay.” Poe’s voice is muffled by his pillow.

Finn turns to Poe. “Come on! You’re not excited?”

Poe rolls over to face Finn. He rubs his eyes with one hand, then scrubs that hand over his face. “Maybe I’ll be more excited when it’s actually morning,” he gives Rey a bleary smile, “and not just practically morning.”

Her enthusiasm undiminished, Rey gets out of bed and grabs her things. “Well, I’m getting up,” she says. “If you want to sleep in, then fine!” With the prospect of opening presents so tantalizingly close, the thought of being unaffected by Christmas morning seems less like a sign of being grown-up and more like a sign of being boring.

When Rey returns from the bathroom, Poe is sitting up and talking to Finn. As Rey drops her things off by the bed, she says, “Well, look who’s awake.”

“What can I say? Finn kept bugging me, so I couldn’t sleep.”

Finn just shrugs. “Hey, I needed somebody to talk to about Christmas morning!”

“It’s Christmas morning!” Rey says.

They both look at Poe, waiting. He smiles. “It’s Christmas morning.”

Rey hurries up the stairs. She stops at the top, momentarily dazzled by the sight. The living room is still dark, except that the tree is lit up. Colored lights blink on and off, their glow reflecting from sparkly tinsel and illuminating the branches hung with ornaments. The pile of presents waits beneath, looming with potential.

She approaches the tree. She recognizes a clothespin reindeer Ben made as a child, and she is pleasantly surprised to see a felt snowman she gave her aunt and uncle many years ago. A Santa on a surfboard is a reminder of a Christmas that Leia and Han spent in Hawaii before Ben was born. A toy car, a green Toyota, is a reminder of a kindly old man Luke used to work for, who has since passed away. There is a clear plastic pine tree with a grade school picture of Rey inside, grinning. Rey turns the picture so that it faces the inside of the tree. Why do her teeth always look so big in childhood pictures?

Rey can’t keep from looking down at the presents, wondering which ones are hers.

“Just hold it right there, young lady!” comes Leia’s voice from the direction of the kitchen. Rey looks up, startled, to see Leia standing there with her arms folded. The kitchen light is on, and Rey can see Han behind Leia, cooking something on the stove. Based on the spatula in Leia’s hand, it looks like she, too, was cooking until she caught Rey. “No opening presents until you’ve had your breakfast!” Leia smiles as she says it, motioning with her spatula for Rey to come over.

Rey enters the kitchen. Han looks up from where he’s stirring a bowl of eggs. “Good morning!”

“And Merry Christmas,” Leia adds.

“Merry Christmas!” Rey says. “I didn’t think you’d be awake yet.”

Han chuckles. “We had a feeling you wouldn’t be able to sleep in. Care for an omelet?”

Rey sits down to eat at the dining room table, and soon Poe and Finn arrive, too, and are treated to omelets. When Rey has finished, she asks Han and Leia, “Where’s Ben?”

“Still asleep, probably,” Leia says. “I suppose Christmas morning holds no interest for ‘Kylo Ren.’”

Finn asks, “Does this mean we need to wait for him before opening our presents?”

Han raises his eyebrows. “Pretty eager there, aren’t you?”

“Um….” Finn pauses, looking guilty.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Leia says. “How about if you give him another hour, and then if he’s not downstairs yet, you start opening presents?”

“Another hour?” Finn frowns.

Poe pats him on the arm. “Okay, you heard the lady. I’m going back downstairs to nap for an hour. Wake me when it’s time to open presents.”

Rey feels as disappointed as Finn looks, but she says, “Besides, it’s not like we can get started without my dad.”

“When do you think your dad will be awake?” Finn asks.

Before Rey can answer, the back door opens and Luke calls, “I’m back!” After taking off his shoes, coat, hat, and earmuffs, he and Chewbacca enter the dining room. “Chewie and I just went for a nice early morning run. The world looks so peaceful this early! The perfect start to a Christmas morning.” When Luke sees the kids gathered at the table, he adds, “Merry Christmas!” and receives a chorus of replies.

Chewie comes over to greet Rey and the others. He’s slightly damp from tromping through the snow, so Rey pets him all over to warm him up. “Merry Christmas, Chewie!” she says, and he barks in reply.

Luke eats breakfast in the kitchen with Han and Leia, who have been eating in between making breakfast for Rey, Poe, and Finn. Meanwhile, Rey gives Chewie his breakfast. Han opens a cabinet and takes down a small box of dog treats. “Since it’s Christmas, after all,” he says, handing the bag to Rey.

Chewie, hearing the rustling of the treats in the box, looks up at Rey expectantly, bouncing from paw to paw while his tongue hangs out of his mouth. Rey opens the bag and holds up a treat. “Now Chewie… sit!” The dog plops down on his bottom. “Shake!” Chewie holds up a slightly damp paw, which Rey shakes. “Say ‘Merry Christmas!’” The dog cocks his head at her quizzically. “Okay, then, speak!” Chewie barks, his tail thumping the floor. “Good boy!” She gives him several treats, which he crunches happily before moving on to the food in his bowl.

With nothing to do but to wait for Ben, Rey goes to the living room and lies down on the couch. She watches the tree as the lights blink rhythmically on and off, on and off.

She wakes from a doze when Ben finally comes downstairs. “I can’t believe you’re all already awake,” he declares.

“I can’t believe you slept in on Christmas morning,” Finn replies, sounding equally surprised.

“What’s the rush? The presents aren’t going anywhere.”

“Yours might,” Leia warns him, “unless you eat some breakfast. Now come on, I think there’s enough eggs for one more omelet.”

It feels to Rey like Ben takes his sweet time eating breakfast, but when he has finally finished, they all gather in the living room. Finn sits on the edge of the couch, leaning toward the presents as though drawn to them by a gravitational pull. Poe sits next to Finn, leaning back but smiling at Finn’s enthusiasm. Rey sits next to Poe, fidgeting as she waits for permission to start opening presents. Ben slouches in an armchair, trying to look unconcerned, though Rey catches him casting quick glances toward the presents when he thinks nobody's looking.

Han, Leia, and Luke stand behind the couch. Luke and Leia both hold cameras and take pictures as surreptitiously as they can, trying not to look like parents eagerly trying to document their children’s lives before they grow up. Han looks as eager to open the presents as the kids are, though he waits for Luke and Leia to finish taking pictures before turning on the lights and announcing that it’s time to open presents.

Finn, Rey, and Poe descend on the presents at once, kneeling in front of the pile and starting to pass boxes between each other. They talk over each other as they read the tags. Poe tries to justify his participation in the chaos by organizing things, but he can’t decide whether he wants to stack the presents by giver or receiver. Chewbacca arrives and eagerly follows each package as it changes hands. Ben joins them, saying he is only there to keep Chewie from crushing the packages, though he can’t help but join in the speculation about what could be in each box.

Then the first package is opened, and events pass in a blur for Rey. After all the anticipation, the chaos and joy in the room is just shy of overwhelming, but she can’t seem to stop smiling. Finn seems to love everything he gets, and Rey finds watching him opening his gifts is almost as much fun as opening her own.

At first, she is distracted by worrying about what Ben will say to her present for him. Though she hasn’t been knitting for very long, she had decided to make him a black beanie. Months ago, she asked Leia what Ben’s favorite band’s name is, and since then she worked at knitting the hat so that it says “Supreme Leader” on it. Admittedly, trying to make the letters spiky was a little overambitious for her level of skill, and she tries to hide her disappointment when Ben has to ask her what it says. He looks at it quietly for a long time, then tucks it away in one of the pockets of his cargo pants without saying thanks or even looking at her.

Rey doesn’t have much time to wonder what to make of Ben’s reaction, because the next gift is Poe’s gift to Finn. Poe admits that he didn’t know Finn was going to be there, but he has something for Finn anyway: his jacket. Poe says that it suited Finn so well the day before that Poe decided he should have it. Finn looks like he doesn’t know whether to laugh or burst into tears, so he settles for embracing Poe.

When everyone has received their gifts, they gather for group pictures while Chewie makes a bed for himself from the discarded wrapping paper. Luke lines up a picture of the four kids together, with Rey standing between Poe and Finn. Luke motions for them to get closer together. “Okay, now get friendly.”

Rey can’t help but grin as Poe and Finn put their arms around her shoulders and she puts hers around theirs. Finn’s jacket has a nice worn feel to it, and she can feel Poe’s muscles under his shirt. Somehow Ben is exempt from the embrace, since he just crosses his arms and scowls. Nevertheless, Rey is sure this is a picture she will treasure, even though she can feel that she is blushing.

They take pictures in various combinations of adults, family, and kids, and then they wrap it up with a few group photos. The last picture is the goofy one, and Poe suggests that he, Finn, and Ben should lift Rey. Rey feels nervous, shy, and exhilarated at the same time. Finn thinks it’s a great idea, and to Rey’s surprise, even Ben agrees to hold her feet. The next thing she knows she is suspended horizontally in the air, with Poe, Finn, and Ben holding her aloft. She whoops as her stomach does flips. Meanwhile, Han smooches Leia while she makes a wry face, and Luke pretends to shake his fist at the young men holding his daughter. Chewbacca comes over and tries to lick Rey’s face just as the timer goes off and the camera takes the picture.

When the boys place her back on the ground, it takes a while for Rey’s heart to stop racing.

Leia indicates the stairs. “Ben, why don’t you get the laptop from my study? We should Skype your grandparents and wish them a Merry Christmas!”

Ben takes the stairs two at a time. He has always held his grandfather in high esteem, and Rey is pleased to see that hasn’t changed. He comes downstairs a few moments later, somewhat more carefully, because he knows what would happen if he damaged Leia’s laptop.

They set up the laptop on the dining room table and gather around one end of the table. Luke encourages Rey to sit next to Ben, as close as possible to the laptop’s webcam as possible, so that her grandparents can see their grandchildren clearly. Ben sends his grandparents some IMs to make sure it’s a good time to talk.

“Okay, everyone be quiet!” Ben demands. “I’m calling them now.” He starts the call, and they all rearrange themselves so that they fit in the frame.

At first, the screen is black, and all they can hear is a creepy, ominous breathing. “Hoooo… kksssshh… hoooo… kksssshh…”

Ben calls out, “Grandpa, you’re too close to the microphone! All we can hear is your breathing!”

They hear muttering and movement on the other end. “Okay, is that better?”

“Yeah,” says Ben, “but we can’t see you.”

“How do you do that again? Let’s see…. is that better?”

“No, we still can’t--”

“Hello? Hello? Oh, now I can’t hear you. Padmé, how do you….”

“Oh, move over,” says their grandmother’s voice. “Really, you can rebuild a car from the scrap yard to look like the day it was made, but put you in front of a computer….”

The screen changes and there are Rey’s grandparents, her grandmother smiling warmly while her grandfather still looks somewhat confused.

“Oh look, everyone’s there!” says Padmé. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Grandma Padmé and Grandpa Anakin!” Rey says amid the chorus of holiday greetings.

Padmé looks at them with fondness. “My goodness, look at these two young people! Our grandchildren aren’t children any more.”

“So nice of you to call a couple of old geezers on Christmas,” says Anakin, smiling. Rey has seen pictures of her grandparents when they were young, and she sees that something of her grandfather’s mischievous grin remains after all these years.

Luke speaks up from the back. “How are you doing, Dad? Mom, is he giving you trouble?”

“Trouble?” Padmé laughs. “Not much trouble left in this one! I should ask if Han is giving Leia any trouble.”

“No trouble here,” says Leia, while Han gives her a kiss. “Well, nothing I can’t handle.”

“Do you have snow this year?” Padmé asks.

“Plenty!” Luke says. “A pretty big blizzard hit us.”

“Nothing but sand here,” says Padmé, turning the webcam to point out the window at the gently waving palm trees and blue skies.”

Anakin huffs. “I still don’t see what’s so great about sand. How you talked me into retiring to Hawaii, I’ll never know!”

“Tell you what,” says Leia, “We’ll trade you blue skies and warm breezes for this blizzard. Speaking of the blizzard, that’s why Poe is joining us this year.”

Anakin peers through the webcam at the gathered group. “Hey Kylo Ren, why don’t you introduce us to your friends?”

Ben sits up when his grandfather calls him by his preferred name. “This is Poe. He works at Mom’s store, remember?”

“Oh, I had no idea he was so handsome!” Padmé exclaims, causing Poe to laugh good-naturedly.

“And this is Finn. He goes to school with Rey.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both!” Finn says.

“So polite!” says Padmé. “And handsome as well! Goodness, Rey, I remember when Leia would bring around young men, but never two at a time!”

Rey yelps in embarrassment, but before she can say something articulate, Leia rolls her eyes. “Really, Mom!”

“Oh, don’t mind me, Rey,” says Padmé. Then she winks. “Just keep an eye out for mistletoe.”

Anakin, deciding the conversation has gone far enough down that path, decides to change the subject. “So, Han, how’s that old van of yours? Still running?”

Chewbacca barks at that, and Rey could almost imagine there is something indignant in that bark. “Sure, it’s still running,” Han says, reaching down to pat Chewie’s head soothingly.

“And Kylo Ren? Have you started practicing your driving?”

Ben laughs. “Grandpa, I’m only thirteen….”

Anakin grins. “So what? The next time you come visit, you can take me for a spin. Pick any car you like! How about the T-bird? You know, back in the day, there wasn’t a car in the state that could keep up with mine….”

They chat amiably, catching each other up on their recent experiences, as well as reminiscing about past Christmases. Rey would really just as well not have revisited the story of the time she tried to haggle with a mall Santa for extra presents. The story has become part of family lore, and everyone chuckles at how Rey had called her presents from the previous year “quarter portions.”

When the conversation dies down, Luke says, “Okay, Mom and Dad, we should start getting ready for lunch over here. I hope you both have a fantastic Christmas!”

“Take care, Rey! Stay out of trouble, Kylo Ren! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Anakin says.

“Dad, that name,” Leia begins.

Anakin waves a hand dismissively. “Oh, let him go by another name if he wants. I did, too, when I was younger.”

Padmé pats her husband’s shoulder. “Yes, and you still would, if Luke hadn’t talked you out of it.”

“Well, never mind,” says Anakin good-humoredly. “Merry Christmas!” There is one more round of goodbyes and well-wishes, and they hang up the call.

For lunch, Han toasts some garlic bread in the oven to go with the leftover spaghetti from the previous night. There isn’t enough spaghetti to go around, so they break out other leftovers as well, and everyone assembles plates of whatever they like. “Don’t eat too much,” Han cautions. “Don’t forget that Christmas dinner is coming up tonight!”

Rey asks, “Will Lando be coming over?”

“Of course!” Han gives a fond, lopsided grin. “You couldn’t keep him away if you tried.”

“Who’s Lando?” Finn asks Rey when they’re sitting at the table.

“He’s one of Han’s old buddies from his trucker days. The two of them have some wild stories. They used to get into a lot of trouble all over the country.”

Finn draws in a breath. “I didn’t know your uncle’s a trucker! That’s so cool!”

“I used to be,” Han says, sitting down to join them. “Leia made me give it all up. These days, Lando and I own a garage in town.”

“I didn’t ‘make’ you do anything,” Leia adds. “I just like having you here where I can keep an eye on you.” She checks the clock on the kitchen wall. “After lunch, we should call Auntie Maz.”

“Yeah!” enthuses Rey. “Of course we need to call Auntie Maz!” She starts to reach for the laptop, but Leia stops her.

“Once you’ve finished your lunch. And washed your hands.”

Finn turns to Rey. “Whose aunt is she? If she’s your aunt’s aunt, she must be your great-aunt, right?”

Rey laughs. “Well, Auntie Maz isn’t really my aunt, or my great aunt. She’s not technically related to us, but we’ve known her so long she’s like family. She’s always just been Auntie Maz.”

When they have finished eating and Leia makes sure they have washed their hands, they give Auntie Maz a call over the computer. Despite being older than Leia’s grandparents, the technology gives Maz no trouble at all.

“So good to know you haven’t forgotten all about me,” Maz chuckles. She adjusts her thick glasses with a tiny, wizened hand. “So, what did everyone get for Christmas?”

“Woolly socks,” Rey laughs. “Well, among other things.”

“Good! They’ll keep your feet warm.”

Rey feels like she never has to give Auntie Maz a run-down of what she has been up to. Maz has the air of someone who has been around long enough that she has heard everything before, so instead they pass the time joking around. She immediately warms to Poe and Finn, and she pokes fun at them and laughs at their jokes as though she has known them for years. The only time Aunie Maz gets serious is when they mention that Finn’s family belongs to the First Order.

“I’ve always said that people can believe what they want,” Maz says, “but make sure you believe what you believe because it’s you who chooses to believe it.”

“Yes ma’am,” says Finn. Rey is used to seeing Finn’s face lit up with unrestrained joy, so seeing him look suddenly so somber is a surprise.

Maz continues. “Take a look at the people around you and decide who you want to be like. You could do worse than ending up like Leia and Han, for instance. Even Luke’s not so bad.” Her eyes twinkle behind her glasses, and then it’s back to jokes. Still, Rey glances over at Finn, and she can see how thoughtful he looks.

When the subject of ‘Kylo Ren’ comes up, Maz scoffs. “It’s none of my business what you choose to call yourself, but it seems to me that your parents gave you a perfectly good name. It suits you. I don’t see the point in coming up with a different name.”

“My grandfather doesn’t think it’s dumb,” Ben grumbles.

Maz’s face wrinkles around her smile. “Your grandfather, bless his heart, has never had the best judgement in that regard. It’s a miracle that he got an smart, sweet girl like Padmé to marry him, if you ask me. Of course, when it comes to choice in men, it looks like a preference for goofy guys runs in the family.”

Leia covers her mouth as she laughs, and Han grins. “Hey, I’m not complaining.”

“And how are you doing, Maz?” Luke asks.

“You know me,” says Maz, settling back in her chair. “I can’t complain. Except, you know, my knees never used to creak like this. And my back’s been hurting again. And my wrists, well, they’ve never been the greatest. My stomach, hmm, could be better, and some nights I don’t sleep so well. But I can’t complain.” She grins, and the others chuckle.

“Same as always, then?” asks Leia, knowing that Maz is the kind of person who, if she has minor ailments to list, has nothing major wrong with her.

“Cheeky girl!” Maz shakes a finger at the webcam. “Yes, same as always. Don’t worry, I’ll be around for many more years. I’ve gotten so old now that I surely can’t get any older, so I figure I’ll just keep going at this age forever.” When the conversation starts to wind down, Maz says, “Well, I can’t spend all day talking to you. I’ve got lots of other folks who will be wanting to call me, too. It was great talking to you, though! Even you, Luke. You all take care now.”

They say their goodbyes and wish each other a Merry Christmas one more time before hanging up.

Leia says, “We should get started on dinner if there’s going to be anything for people to eat tonight!”

“What can we do?” Finn asks.

“Let’s see,” says Leia. She walks down the line of people, pointing to them in turn. “Ben, you’re on peeling. Rey, you’re chopping. Finn, mashing. Poe, stirring. Luke, you handle the ham. We should get that in the oven soon. Han, you start on the pies.”

Finn asks, “And what will you be doing?” Immediately after asking it, he pauses, his eyes flicking from Leia to the others to see if he just made a mistake.

Leia just raises and eyebrow. “What do you think I’ll be doing?”

Rey wants to laugh as Finn visibly sweats. “Organizing?” He exhales and relaxes when Leia laughs.

“You got it in one! Someone has to make sure things move along on schedule.”

It turns out that Leia does far more than organize. She makes sure everyone has what they need when they need it, passing out utensils, dishes, and spices as necessary. She also shows them where to go, gives pointers, lends a hand when someone is falling behind, and, when necessary, swoops in to correct minor mistakes. Chewbacca wanders from one person to the next, sniffing, and gets gently pushes away by a foot or knee before he gets in the way. Soon the kitchen is bustling, with everyone passing things back and forth, checking on each other’s progress, and chatting about how the holiday has gone.

“Do you think we’ll have a chance to watch more X-Files today?” Finn asks.

Luke chuckles. “I think there’s been plenty of X-Files already for one Christmas vacation.”

Poe jumps in. “It could be a new holiday tradition!”

“Maybe next year, then,” Luke says.

“We could play another board game?” Rey suggests.

“Ugh!” says Ben, peeling a potato particularly savagely.

Han glances at his son. “Let’s not push our luck with the board games.”

When the various dishes are all simmering on the stove, baking in the oven, or waiting their turn, the group splits up. Luke starts reading a new book he received from Leia. Judging from the title, it is about someone with a thousand faces. Rey wonders if the titular hero is a master of disguise or a shapeshifter. Leia goes upstairs to email some friends and colleagues for Christmas. She seems to keep in touch with everyone she’s ever met. It hasn’t snowed yet since the snowplows cleared the road, so Han announces that he’ll pick up Lando.

“Lando can drive himself,” Leia points out.

Han hunches his shoulders and admits, “Well, there’s a noise in the van’s engine I’ve been trying to figure out, and I could use his help with it.”

“That I can believe,” Leia says with a laugh. “Just make sure he doesn’t steal his van back. You’re not driving my Camaro.

“Is anyone interested in learning about car repair?” Han asks. “You could come with.”

Finn and Poe both call out, “Shotgun!”

Han chuckles. “You’re both in the back. Chewie rides shotgun. C’mere, boy!” Chewie barks and hurries after Han. “Rey, are you coming?” Han asks.

Rey watches Finn and Poe hurry into their jackets, and shakes her head, smiling. “It’s ok,” she says, “I’ve had plenty of time with the van before. They can have fun with it, and then we can fix what they did the next time my dad and I come visit.”

Busily ignoring everyone, Ben shuts down the laptop and waits for it to turn off.

“Guess that leaves us,” says Rey, giving what she hopes is a friendly smile.

Ben shrugs, tapping his fingers as the computer finishes the shutdown sequence.

Rey reminds herself that it’s the last full day they will spend together for a while. “Hey, do you still want to play Pokemon? This may be our last chance.”

Part of her almost wants him to say no, convinced that playing Pokemon with him would be about as much fun as watching him sulk through most of the game of Monopoly the night before. Another part of her, probably the larger part, wants to somehow connect with her cousin before they leave. Since actual conversation seems like hoping too much, playing a video game with just the two of them is her best bet.

Ben shrugs. “I guess,” he says, his voice flat. He picks up the laptop and starts heading for the stairs before half-turning to look in her direction. “You coming?”

“Just let me get my DS.” As she goes downstairs, she reflects that, based on her experience playing Smash Brothers with him, perhaps video games may be the way to get through to Ben. She wonders what that says about him.

When Rey joins Ben in his room, he is sitting at his desk, twisting his desk chair back and forth while he hunches over his Nintendo DS. With no other chairs in the room, Rey sits on his bed. It seems a strangely familiar thing to do with someone she feels so disconnected from.

They sit and talk about which Pokemon they each have, each of them looking only at their DS while they talk. Rey expected that Ben would be further in the game than she is, and that turns out to be the case, but he is missing several Pokemon she has.

“None of my friends at school play Pokemon,” he mutters.

Rey smiles. “Not enough shooting for them?”

“It’s a very well-made game! They just don’t understand.”

“Sometimes people need to give something a chance. It might surprise them.” As she says it, Rey can hear herself sounding like her father.

When Rey shows Ben her active party of Pokemon, he scoffs. “Really?”

“Well, let’s see what you’ve got,” Rey shoots back.

He shows her, and she can’t help but laugh. “Greninja? Really?”

To her surprise, Ben actually flushes at that. “What? He’s cool!”

“That means your starter was Froakie? He’s so cute!”

Ben is suddenly very interested in the carpet. “All the starters are cute.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s…” she thinks for a second, trying to remember the terms her friends who play more video games use. “...I’m sure he’s got all the leet hacks!”

Ben stares at her a moment before bursting into laughter. Now it’s Rey’s turn to color. “What?”

“Nothing.” He’s still smiling, and she can’t tell if the smile is genuine or mocking. “Hey, do you remember when our grandfather tried to call in an order to Gunray’s Takeout?”

Rey smiles at the memory, glad the focus is being taken off of her. “Yeah?”

“He sounded about as lost as you did just then!”

Rey finds herself laughing, then she pokes Ben in the side. “Well, I know how much you look up to Grandpa, so I’ll take that as a compliment!”

Ben looks serious. “Our grandfather is a great man!”

Rey gives Ben a sly smile. “Great at ordering takeout?” She watches him carefully to see if there’s any glimmer of humor behind his stoic face.

It takes a while, but he finally, slowly, smiles. “Okay, maybe not so great at ordering takeout.” The two of them laugh together, and it only feels slightly awkward, which is a marked improvement over Rey’s other interactions with her cousin so far.

They spend the rest of their time upstairs trading both Pokemon and stories about their family. Rey notices that Ben has given all of his Pokemon names like “Titan,” “Mauler,” and “Eradicator,” even the cutest ones, but she doesn’t say anything. She figures if he’s trying to go by ‘Kylo Ren,’ what he names his Pokemon isn’t much by comparison. And besides, she kind of likes seeing a dumpy-looking Mamoswine named “Vehemence.”

They conversation is never entirely comfortable, since Rey can’t tell how much of it is forced and how much is genuine. They talk about past holidays and trips their families have gone on together. It is a good reminder that, no matter how strange Ben feels to her, he is not a stranger. She hopes he realizes it, too, at least on some level.

A door opens downstairs. “We’re back!” Han calls.

“Just wrapping up,” Leia responds.

Ben immediately switches off his DS and heads downstairs. Rey is a little hurt by how quickly he dropped their conversation. As she switches off her own DS and follows, Rey thinks about how much Ben has changed, and she wonders whether his new way of seeing the world leaves any room for a friendship with her.

Lando is waiting with the others at the bottom of the stairs.

“Merry Christmas, Ben!” says Lando. “And Merry Christmas to you, too, Rey!” He gives Rey a hug and, seeing Ben’s expression, gives Ben a handshake.

“I’m so glad you could come, Lando,” says Rey. She has known him all her life, and she wouldn’t dream of calling him anything but ‘Lando.’

Han leads the way toward the kitchen, saying, “Let’s see if dinner’s ready yet.”

“Lando! Welcome!” calls Leia, approaching from the kitchen.

Lando takes her hand and gives it a gallant kiss. “You look more beautiful every year, Leia. As opposed to this old scoundrel,” and he indicates Han with his eyes, “who seems to be getting uglier and uglier. You know, if you should ever change your mind….” His eyes twinkle as he says it, making it clear that he is only joking.

Han claps his friend on the shoulder. “The years aren’t doing you any favors, either, pal.”

Lando raises his hands in mock protest. “I age like a fine wine! Speaking of which, I brought some with me.”

“Let’s save that for later,” Leia tells them. “For now, the food still needs a little more time, so why don’t you all go outside for a bit. Chewie needs a walk, and it’ll give you a chance to work up an appetite. I’ll stay here to keep an eye on things and make sure the house doesn’t burn down.”

As they get ready to head out, Finn offers to let Poe have his jacket back, but Han lends Poe one of his. Rey can see the relief on Finn’s face.

The air outside is crisp, making the insides of Rey’s nostrils tingle. She can see her breath.

They trudge through the snow on the sidewalk. With each step, their shoes crunch through the thin layer of ice on top of the snow. Han and Lando fall behind the younger members of the group, exchanging thoughts but mostly walking together in silent companionship.

At first, Rey, Finn, and Poe talk about Smash Brothers, with Ben occasionally adding an opinion. Soon the silent peacefulness of the snow-covered world takes hold, and their conversation ends. The snow has transformed everything, so that bushes look like lumps of white and every street sign wears a little hat of snow.

The sky slowly darkens as they walk, and the street lights come on, causing the snow around them to glow. Han declares that they should turn back before it gets much darker, and they all agree, since it is quickly becoming colder, too.

On their way back, Poe drops behind a few steps, then lobs a snowball at Finn. Finn cries out in surprise, but his surprise turns to delight as he realizes what happened and retaliates with a snowball of his own. Poe casts a mischievous glance at Rey, who dodges the snowball he aims at her and sends one back at him. Rey packs together another snowball and aims it at Ben, raising her eyebrows to see if he is interested in joining.

“Don’t you dare,” he huffs. “It’s cold enough as it is.” He rams his hands deeper into his pockets for emphasis.

He is right about the cold, so the snowball fight is short-lived.

“Well, you all arrived just in time,” says Leia when they enter the house. “The first course should be ready soon. Let’s have some vegetables and dip as an appetizer while you warm up from the cold.”

They wash their hands and gather in the living room, passing around plates of vegetables and some bowls of various dips while Lando asks them about how work and school are going.

“So what’s it like working at the store with Leia? You know, it’s been a real bastion of the community for quite a long time now.”

“It’s been fun!” Poe replies. “Things have been busy in the runup to the holidays, but it’s been a good challenge. And the extra money for the holidays really came in handy.”

“Which reminds me,” says Lando with a chuckle, “I got you all something. You know, it seems like just yesterday since you kids were babies, so I considered getting you some coloring books and crayons….” Ben rolls his eyes. Lando continues with a wink, “but I decided to play it safe and get you all gift cards. Here.” He hands them around, then sits back with a smile. “After all, what the heck do I know about what kids like these days?”

“As for us,” says Han, “We all pitched in and got you something, too.” He gets up and walks over to a bookshelf and gets down a square, flat package from where it was hidden between some books.

Lando looks genuinely curious. “Now, what could this be?” He tears off the packaging to reveal a record. His eyes go wide and his jaw actually drops. “No way,” Lando says in a quiet voice. Blobby neon letters declare the album to be Max Rebo’s Soul Barge. Based on the album art, the band must have been pretty psychedelic, because the art depicts a blue elephant, a dumpy cyclops, and some sort of singing avocado with bright red lips on a long proboscis. “I can’t believe this! I never realized they put out an album.”

“They didn’t,” says Han, smiling to see Lando so happy. “There was only a preview sent to a few radio stations to test the waters. It never saw a wide release.”

Lando shakes his head in disbelief. “How did you….?”

“I know a few guys who know a few guys, and some of those guys owed me favors,” Han says with a shrug.

Leia scoffs at that. “He means eBay. Merry Christmas, Lando,” she adds with a smile.

“Well?” asks Poe. “Are we going to put it on?”

“Absolutely not!” Lando replies with a laugh. When he sees the surprise on Poe’s face, he adds, “These guys were the house band at what must have been easily the worst job Han, Leia, Luke, and I ever worked at.”

“Then why do you like it?” Finn asks.

Lando chuckles. “Well, it really brings back memories of when we were younger. Things don’t seem so bad with the benefit of a few years between you.”

“It also helps that we can look back knowing we survived,” Luke says with a smile.

“So true!” Lando says. Then, as he examines the record in his hands, he gets a faraway look in his eyes. “So true.” After a moment, he looks up at Leia. “So, when do you think the food will be ready?”

“As soon as you’re ready to eat!” Leia replies.

Lando turns to the kids. “Well?”

He is greeted by a chorus of enthusiastic responses, as well as Ben muttering, “I was ready to eat half an hour ago,” which everyone ignores.

They all head toward the kitchen. Luke takes the ham out of the oven while Leia starts serving up the other dishes. Han and Lando take dishes into the dining room when they are ready.

Even Chewie gets to indulge when Rey gives him his dinner, as she pours a bit of gravy over his dog food and sneaks him a bite of steamed broccoli. Chewie learned to enjoy broccoli many years ago while Ben was growing up.

As Rey sits down at the dining room table, she can feel her stomach growl at the sight and smell of the many dishes. Lando pours some wine for himself and the other adults, while Poe pours some apple cider for the others. When they all have their glasses filled, Leia stands and lifts her glass.

“I’m so glad you could all join us here tonight. Yes, even you, Ben. Whether you’re family by blood or family by choice, you are all welcome. Eat, enjoy, and come back soon!”

Luke lifts his glass. “To family!”

“To family!” They all repeat, raising their glasses and clinking them. Rey notices that Ben says it, too, though he only bothers to make a few desultory clinks of his glass before taking a sip and putting his glass down. Finn makes up for Ben’s lack of enthusiasm, as he seems to want to clink his glass to everyone’s at least twice, and he only stops when everyone else is drinking.

Luke starts carving the ham while everyone starts to help themselves to food. Soon dishes and plates are being passed back and forth in a friendly hubbub of people asking for food, offering food, and complimenting the food.

Rey fills her plate and dives in, wanting to taste everything at once. She takes several big bites, then tears off a bite of bread with her teeth. As she chews, she sees that Ben is watching her. “What?” she asks, her mouth full.

“You must be really hungry,” Ben says. He daintily cuts a steamed carrot in two with his knife and fork before eating half of it.

Rey isn’t sure how to respond, so she settles on, “Sorry?”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Leia says warmly.

“It’s very good,” Rey tells her.

Leia smiles. “Eat as much as you want, and don’t stand on ceremony.”

Rey doesn’t need to be asked twice, and she starts demolishing her plate.

“Pace yourself, though, there’s no rush,” her dad says with a laugh.

Rey slows down a bit, taking a moment to look around the table at the happy faces gathered around it. For a moment, she gets a little sad at the thought that they have to leave soon, but she determines to enjoy her remaining time with them while she can. Besides, she reminds herself, she’ll see them again soon.

Finn asks, “So what was this job where you listened to that band?”

That starts the adults reminiscing, and soon they begin telling stories of their youth. Even though some of the kids have heard some of these stories before, they listen to tales of Luke helping Han get Leia out of the house after curfew, or the three of them sneaking into a lot to get Han’s van back, or the time Han and Leia were vacationing at a resort Lando managed when it got busted by some corrupt cops.

At this point, everyone is finishing off their second or third helpings, so they soon wander into the living room where Luke serves up a box of Christmas cookies for dessert as the stories continue. When they get to telling the story about the terrible job Lando had mentioned earlier, all that the kids get are a few vague references to a gross boss, bad outfits, and Han being treated as furniture.

“Trust me,” Han says, his smile wry but his eyes far away, “the less you know about that, the better.”

The adults are much more enthusiastic about recounting an adventure where Luke and Leia stole a motorcycle from a biker gang, while Lando drove Han’s van through a white power militia’s camp in the woods. The adults are telling the story at once, and Han, Leia, and Lando are working on their third glass of wine each. As a result, the narrative is a little hard to follow, and Rey is not quite sure how the stories are related. The finale is that Han, Luke, and Leia distracted the militia by setting off some fireworks in their outhouse just before Lando drove the van through the walls of their ramshackle compound, bringing the whole thing down around their ears.

Finn laughs so hard that he accidentally swallows a crumb from the cookie he’s eating, and he needs Poe to slap his back until he coughs it up.

“That van’s really been through a lot,” Rey says, her eyes shining.

Lando nods, acknowledging the compliment. “Yeah, I took pretty good care of her back when she was mine. And Han’s done an okay job keeping it running since then, I suppose.”

“Hey now,” Han says, sitting forward, “She runs better now than ever!”

“Now that we fixed that noise in the engine, she does!” Lando replies with a languid smile. “That van’s got some real history. You kids could be part of that history some day. Your uncle’s not going to be driving it forever.”

Ben scoffs. “As if I’d want to drive a wreck like that. I’d want a car that turns heads, not stomachs.”

Han opens his mouth to reply, but before he can say anything, Rey jumps in with, “I want to drive it! Maybe when I have my permit like Poe, I could practice driving in the van?”

Han sits back in his chair, placated. “Yeah, okay, kiddo. I’d be glad to teach you.”

Rey gives him a cheeky grin. “You? I was thinking Chewie could teach me!” Hearing his name, the dog barks and wags his tail. “See?” says Rey. “He agrees!”

Han gives his old dog a fond scratch. “Well, if you and Chewie don’t mind, I think I’ll tag along anyway.”

“Me too!” says Finn. When the others look at him, he adds, “If that’s all right.”

After pretending to consider the question for a second, Han concedes, “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.”

Ben puffs up his skinny chest. “I’m sure my grandfather will give me a beautiful, classic car when I’m old enough to drive.”

“You’d better learn how to maintain it, then,” says Luke. “Dad made me prove I knew how to take care of a car like that before he was willing to give me one.”

Ben deflates at that. “Oh. Well, in that case, I think the van would be perfect.”

“That’s more like it!” says Han.

“It’s always in need of repairs,” Ben continues, “and it’s not like I could make it run any worse, so what better car to learn on?”

Han points at him with mock seriousness. “You’d better watch it. You should respect that van. There’s a pretty good chance you were conceived in it.” He leans back and puts an arm around Leia, looking smug.

Leia crosses her arms and glares at Han, but she’s smiling, too.

Ben’s eyes bulge and his cheeks turn bright red as he tries to come up with a response that won’t make him look ridiculous. Poe and Finn burst out laughing, but Rey is more worried than amused. She doesn’t know what Ben will do next, and she doesn’t want a temper tantrum to ruin their evening. Ben’s eyes dart around the faces around him, until he makes eye contact with Rey. Rey can’t be sure, but she thinks he’s relieved to see that she isn’t laughing at him. Rey meets his gaze and rolls her eyes, in what she hopes is a sympathetic way.

As the laughs fade into chuckles, Ben slouches and glares at the floor, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s inappropriate,” he grumbles, without even looking at his father.

Anxious to move on, Rey says quickly, “So, Uncle Han, I was telling Finn earlier that you and Lando were truckers. Do you have any stories from those days?”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve heard all my trucker stories,” Han says with a self-deprecating smile.

“But Finn hasn’t!” Rey says. Finn nods.

Han glances at Lando, who shrugs and says, “I think there’s time for a story or two.”

“Well, all right,” says Han. “Let me think for a sec. There was this one time….”

The conversations drifts between topics, memories and hopes and jokes. Finally, as the yawns start to increase in frequency and magnitude, Lando stands and stretches. “Well, I should get going. It’s been really great seeing you all.”

There is a chorus of well-wishes and goodbyes from the group. Luke stands and walks with Lando. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“I was hoping for a ride in that Mustang,” Lando says with a grin, “I just didn’t know how to ask.”

“Does this mean we have to go to bed?” Finn asks.

Poe nudges him. “You almost fell asleep on my shoulder a moment ago.”

“Not true!”

“I can show you the drool spot if you like.”

“Haha, ew, no way!”

Rey stands up along with the others. They bid each other goodnight, and a final round of “Merry Christmas.”

Rey expects Ben to head upstairs at his first chance, but instead, he sits on the couch and watches Rey, Poe, and Finn head toward the stairs. Rey pauses at the top and glances back, unsure if she should say anything. She gives Ben a little wave, and he lifts a hand in response. Rey turns and heads down.

As she gets ready for bed, she thinks about how she will be in her own bed the following night. It feels strange somehow, and lonely, to think that she won’t have Finn and Poe sleeping near her. And Chewie, she reminds herself, as the dog meets her at the bathroom door and follows her to the sofa bed.

They take their time saying goodnight again.

“I hope we can do this again next Christmas,” says Finn quietly. “That would be nice.”

Poe rolls over to face Finn’s direction. “We don’t have to wait until Christmas. Maybe we can all go camping over the summer.”

Rey smiles against her pillow. “That sounds nice,” she says sleepily. “Someplace green.”

Rey can’t see Finn’s smile in the dark, but she has seen so much of it the past few days that she can picture it in her mind’s eye. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

They wish each other good night again, then drift off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I received an [illustration of this chapter](http://baronvonchop.tumblr.com/post/139094736738/pooryorickdraw-heres-a-scene-from-a-cute) from the extremely talented [pooryorick](http://pooryorickdraw.tumblr.com/)! OMG!


	5. Departure

Morning arrives, and as much as Rey would like to hold onto every moment left of her stay, it seems like events conspire to move things along. She only has one clean set of clothes left, so choosing an outfit requires no consideration. When she arrives in the kitchen for breakfast, Luke is just taking some steaming, golden waffles out of a waffle iron. He puts them on a plate and hands them to her.

“Good morning!” he says.

“Good morning,” Rey replies.

Luke tells her, “We should head out soon after lunch, so you should pack up your things once you’ve eaten.”

“Okay.”

Her dad looks at her with concern. “Are you feeling all right?” Rey doesn’t reply, so he says, “Not looking forward to saying goodbye to your friends, huh?”

Rey thinks about how to explain it to him. “It feels like there were so many more things I wanted to do, and now there’s no time left to do them.”

As usual, Rey finds that her father is sympathetic. “That makes sense. Try to think of it this way: instead of regretting all the things you didn’t do, be glad of the things you did. That might help.”

Rey nods. She still feels a little down, but she had a great vacation. “Thanks, dad.”

“Anytime. And don’t forget: it’s not over yet!”

Poe comes up to have breakfast, followed later by Finn. When Finn sees Poe and Rey eating breakfast, he asks them, “Hey, do you guys wanna eat in the living room while watching some X-Files?”

Poe laughs. “You want to fit in a few more episodes, huh?”

Finn shrugs and smiles. “Well, there’s not much chance of me seeing more when I get home, so this may be my only opportunity for a while!”

Rey looks over at Luke, and Finn and Poe follow suit. Luke waves them toward the kitchen. “I’m sure Han and Leia wouldn’t mind. Just make sure you don’t get syrup on the couch, or the carpet.”

As it turns out, there are a few close calls with the syrup, as Finn jumps several times during the episode. Luckily, he narrowly avoid dumping his plate from his lap. After Luke retrieves their empty plates for washing, Finn ends the episode clutching Rey’s hand in one hand and Poe’s in the other.

“That was the best episode yet!” he declares afterward. “Let’s watch another!”

“Are you sure?” Rey asks.

“Of course!”

As Han and Leia come down to eat breakfast, they join the kids in the living room. “Oh, I remember this one,” Leia says. “It’s a good one!”

“Which one is this?” Han asks, furrowing his brow.

“You remember. The one where Mulder….”

“Hey, no spoilers!” Finn yelps.

Leia gives him a mischievous smile. “Just keeping you on your toes.”

Even Ben joins them, eventually, though by then the stack of waffles in the kitchen is cold. When Luke sees Ben loading his plate, he says, “You can microwave them to warm them up a bit.”

“No, thanks,” Ben mutters. “They’re fine cold.” As soon as he sits down and takes a bite, he scowls, regretting his decision. Nevertheless, he continues eating the cold waffles rather than giving anyone the satisfaction of seeing him change his mind.

Once the second episode is over, Luke says, “All right, better start packing up our things.”

“Does that include me and Poe?” asks Finn.

Leia says, “That wouldn’t be a bad idea. Han and I can give you both rides home after lunch.”

Chewie follows them downstairs, where he happily gets in the way and distracts them from packing. Rey pets him whenever he comes near. She is reluctant to finish packing. There is something about having her things unpacked in her aunt and uncle’s place that makes it feel like home. Once that’s all packed away, she’ll be just a visitor again.

As they put their things back in their suitcases, Poe says, “You know, when Leia invited me to join her family for Christmas, I didn’t know how it would go. I’d met Ben before, but not the two of you. And, to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to spending my Christmas with ‘Kylo Ren.’” He gives them both a warm smile. “But I think this worked out pretty well.”

“I think so, too!” says Finn. “I’m really glad I got to spend Christmas with Rey’s family, and I’m glad you could be here, too, Poe. I really hope we can spend Christmas together again next year!” He stops himself and he adds, “I mean, it sucks that you couldn’t spend Christmas with your family because of the storm.”

Poe waves off his apology. “I know what you mean. It would have been great to spend Christmas with my family, but this was pretty great, too.” He looks over at Rey. “You’re being quiet over there. Did you have a good time?”

Suddenly, Rey feels tears pricking her eyes, and a lump in her throat keeps from replying. She ruffles Chewie’s ears to buy herself a moment, and the old dog’s brown eyes look at her with compassion. Finally, she nods, and when she can speak, she says, “Definitely.”

Finn asks, “You don’t mind sharing your family with us?” He actually looks worried.

“Of course not!” She pauses, trying to think about how to explain what she is thinking. “After the past few days, it almost feels like we’re family.”

“Oh yeah?” Poe asks. “In what way?” He actually winks at her.

Rey feels her heart thump against her ribcage, and a moment later her face burns as a blush comes out of nowhere. Before she can come up with a reply, Luke emerges from the hallway with his suitcase in hand. “All packed up? Do you need a hand with your bag?”

“I’ve got it!” says Rey. She lifts her suitcase and follows her dad up the stairs, with Poe and Finn behind them and Chewie bringing up the rear. They leave their suitcases by the door.

Han emerges from the kitchen and leans against the doorframe. “Bet you can’t guess what’s for lunch,” he says.

“Leftovers!” Rey exclaims.

Her uncle feigns surprise. “You got it in one! Come on, load up some plates.” He and Leia start taking containers out of the fridge.

They head to the kitchen, and Chewie goes to his plate, where his food is already waitin for him. Everyone else starts getting food. Finn forks some mashed potatoes onto his plate, then turns to the gravy.

“Hang on, I forgot a spoon for the gravy,” says Han.

“It’s okay!” says Finn. “We’ll use our forks.”

Han gives him a look. “That’s not how forks work!” He opens a drawer and grabs a spoon.

Ben arrives late as usual. “So ‘Kylo Ren’ has come to join us?” Rey asks him. She almost manages to say his name without making it sound like it has quotes around it.

He shrugs. “I was at the end of a map in my game, so I figured it was a good time to pause.”

Leia chuckles. “I’m glad your video gaming provided a convenient opening for you to get some food.”

“Well, I’m heading back up after I’ve eaten,” Ben says.

Finn goes back for seconds. “Does anyone mind if I finish some of this off?”

“Please do!” Leia says. “I’m glad you like leftovers so much, since we’ve been having them for lunch so often.”

“I think they’re awesome!” Finn enthuses.

“It’s good that it’s getting eaten,” says Han. “Though I think Chewie might be a little disappointed that we won’t need his help to finish off the food.”

Rey knows they have to go after lunch, so she takes her time eating. She can only delay their departure for so long, though, and soon, lunch is over and it’s time to load their things into their cars. They put on their shoes and jackets and head into the garage, stowing their suitcases in the trunks of the various cars. Han will be giving Finn a ride home, while Leia will be driving Poe.

“You didn’t forget anything?” Luke asks Rey. “Toothbrush?”

“I double-checked,” says Rey as she closes the Mustang’s trunk.

Han and Poe manage to wrestle the garage door open. They all gather in the driveway for their final goodbyes.

“Thanks for having us,” Rey says.

“Oh yeah?” Leia asks, smiling. “You had fun?”

“Tons!” Rey enthuses, and she gives her aunt a hug. “It was the best.”

“Take care, kiddo,” Han says. Chewie has followed them out, and the old dog takes this opportunity to barrel into her legs. She bends down to pet him and hugs his head. “Chewie’s really going to miss you.”

Rey stands and stands on her tiptoes to hug her uncle. “Thanks for everything, Uncle Han.”

Rey turns to Poe and Finn. Whatever she says now will be insufficient, so she only says, “Poe, I hope we get a chance to hang out again soon. Finn, I’ll see you when school starts again.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me!” says Finn. Poe and Finn embrace her at the same time. Rey puts into the embrace everything she couldn’t say in words.

“Maybe I can work something out when I have my license,” Poe says.

Luke’s jaw drops. “You mean he didn’t--”

Leia pulls her brother into a hug to stop his protest. “Take care of my favorite niece, okay?”

“And you take care of my… only nephew,” says Luke, cracking a smile while everyone laughs.

Rey looks for Ben, but true to his prediction, he seems to have headed back to his room for more gaming. As she’s looking, she misses when Finn throws a snowball at Poe. She only hears Poe’s exclamation of surprise, followed by him throwing a retaliatory snowball at Finn. Finn runs into the yard, where the snow is still knee-deep in places. Poe is fast behind him, and they both whoop with joy.

“Come on, Rey!” Finn calls, lobbing a snowball in her direction, but aiming to miss in case she’s not interested.

She looks at her dad to see if it would be okay to delay their leaving. He smiles, his eyes shining. “Go on. If you get cold, we can turn up the heat in the car.”

As Rey charges after her friends and starts throwing snowballs, Leia sidles up next to her brother. “You know, sometimes you can even make fun seem practical.”

“What do you mean?” Luke asks, looking perplexed. Leia indicates the snowball fight with her eyes. Luke asks her, “Okay, how would you have said it’s okay to join a snowball fight?”

Leia’s face splits into the grin she’s been suppressing. “Like this!” She whips a snowball from behind her back and pelts Luke with it. She wades into the snow. “Come on!” Smiling and shaking his head, Luke follows, gathering up a snowball for his daughter.

Rey is soon breathing hard, sending clouds of steam into the air, though she is just as much out of breath from laughing as from the physical exertion of the snowball fight. She throws snowballs at everyone, receiving plenty in return.

Chewie jumps through the snow, following flying snowballs and barking with joy. Rey figures that perhaps he can’t quite tell what’s going on, but he knows his humans are happy, and so he’s happy, too.

When Han hits Leia with a snowball, she shakes her head at him, “Some husband! You know, I haven’t thrown any at you yet.” As Han opens his mouth to protest, Leia rolls her eyes. “And don’t try to tell me that I shot first, because that excuse has worn pretty thin!” Han laughs and gives her a kiss instead, and they both start throwing snowballs at Luke.

The snowball fight goes on for a while. Perhaps none of them are quite ready for it to be over yet. Eventually, things start to slow down as they start wondering if it might be time to start getting into the cars.

Then Rey sees the front door open and Ben steps out. To her surprise and delight, he’s wearing the “Supreme Leader” hat she knit him. He steps into the yard and gathers up a snowball.

“Hey, Dad!” he calls out. Han half-turns, and the snowball hits him square in the chest. Caught off-balance and off-guard, Han topples backward, nearly disappearing into a pile of deep snow.

Everyone stops, looking from Han to Ben. Ben hurries through the snow to check on Han. Han lifts and arm toward him. “C’mere and help me up.”

Ben reaches down to take his father’s arm, but it’s his turn to be surprised when Han yanks him down into the snow next to him. Han barks out a laugh, and everyone joins in, even Ben. Chewie bounds over to him and takes the opportunity to start licking Ben’s face, which makes everyone else laugh even harder. Leia comes over and drops into the snow on Ben’s other side.

The others converge on them as they help each other up. Rey can already tell that this is going to turn into a group hug, and she can’t seem to stop smiling. While she may have to leave them soon, her family will still be here, and she can’t wait for the next time she’ll see them all again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left comments while this was a work in progress! Your comments have been a big help in motivating me to finish the story.
> 
> I would also like to give my sincere thanks to my beta reader/coauthor, who suggested all the best parts of the story and fixed all the worst parts of my draft. Any remaining issues are entirely on me! Without my beta reader/coauthor, this story would never have happened.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story! If you feel like leaving a comment, please do!


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